Another World
by EternalFatiguedHeart
Summary: Two people lead very different, but very similiar lives in the bustling streets of New York City. When the two run from their problems and meet by chance one stormy morning, they'll find that sometimes life has a different set of directions for them... EC
1. Say Goodbye

A/N: Ok, this is probably going to be a long authors note... :P Quite a bit to say for once. Well let me start by saying, welcome to my very second Phantom of the Opera story! It is a modern story and a bit different...

Ok, well this story is kind of soap operish... without the whole town sleeping with everyone and the dead people suddenly coming back ;) But it does have a bit of melodrama that could possibly define it as soap operish. So if you do not like that kind of story, then do not read it.

Tomorrow, Chapter 14 of my first story, 'When All is Said and Done', will be updated. If you're reading this, please go read and review that story as well. It would mean a lot to me!

This story has no concistency of updating as of so far... like it may not be every week like my first story. I'm not sure how often it'll be updated... but I can tell you, the more reviews it gets, the faster the chapters will come, and the longer they will be.

At the very end of this chapter, there is lyrics from a song. The song is called 'Any Other World', by Mika. I suggest you listen to it, it's a reall good song. I absolutely love how the children begin to sing at the end of the song. So please, go listen to it.

And to conclude my abnormally long authors note, 'like always, please read and review, that's all I ask of you!'

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 1: Say Goodbye.

_November 4, 2007._

_55 Water Street, Manhattan, New York City_.

"Christine, there's something I wish to ask you." Raoul said softly as his soft amber eyes glowed that dark starry night and landed on the youthful and beautiful face of Christine Devenpeck.

Raoul Gibson and Christine Devenpeck sat on the rooftop of 55 Water Street, a skyscraper in the bustling nighttime streets of Manhattan in New York City. They lay underneath the glowing stars in the dark stretch of blackness, only a moon, the stars and the city lights being their only source of light.

He looked around him, his eyes glowing in anticipation. This night, he determined, was to be special. Before him, lay a dozen, miniature lit red candles, a few petals off of red roses were daintily spread about the blanket that the two both sat atop of, and of course, there were the stars. The stars completed the mood tremendously. He knew that what he was about to do, was the right decision. It had been on his mind as of late…

He was most certain that she would be as thrilled as he would.

Christine and Raoul had met as kids; their meeting quite different from most people. She had been playing in the sandbox at the tender age of six down the street from her and her father's apartment one afternoon, when a bunch of older boys came over and demanded that she 'scram'. She of course, said no and the bullies began to pick on her and pull on her hair and push her around. That was when Raoul came over to her defense... and for her whole life; he had been her night in shining armor. She would think no less of him.

xoxo

_20 Years ago. October 21, 1987._

_Local Park._

_Young Christine sat in the sandbox with a shovel in one hand and a toy castle shaper in the other. She bit her tongue in concentration as she was busy building herself a toy castle in the local park sandbox just down the street from her apartment where her and her father lived. She had just moved from Alberta and was now living in the bustling streets of Manhattan, New York City. She was slowly growing acquainted with her surroundings… being so used to the country side, Alberta offered._

_She saw a bunch of teenage boys -about thirteen at most- heading in her direction, but ignored them as she kept her attention on the miniature castle._

_She smiled as she stuck a miniature flag in one of the towers. "The princess can live here." She smiled._

_Her world consisted of princesses, dragons, towers and of course, prince charming. She always used to daydream about being rescued by her prince one day. And her father always said that one day the right prince would come along… and she would just know he was the right one. She couldn't wait for that day. She'd lock herself up in a tower for years if she knew that he was going to come._

_She gasped suddenly as one of the boys kicked the part of the sand castle she had just built, over. Another boy went around her and began to pull her curly pigtails, causing her to sniffle and cry in protest._

_"You're such a crybaby, crying over a stupid sand castle!" they all laughed and taunted. One even picked up a handful of sand and threw it at her, smacking her in the mouth. She could taste the tiny grains of sand._

_"Give us the sandbox you loser!" one of them demanded. "Go home to your daddy!"_

_Christine, still crying, shook her head and refused to move, so one of the boys kicked her in the side, causing her to cry harder. But she ignored the pain and continued to sit in the sandbox stubbornly. Her father had always told her to stand up for what she wanted or believed in. She would do him proud._

"_I said leave!" the boy growled._

_"Leave her alone!" Raoul yelled at them, coming over and shoving the boy who had dared to kick her. The boy fell and landed with a thud, on his bum._

_One of the boys turned and faced him and demanded, "What are you going to do? Tell your mommy? I bet she'll surely come running!" the boy pretended to get scared. "I'm so scared!" he laughed at the look of complete anger that landed on Raoul's perfect face._

_Raoul punched the boy in the face who dared mock him and his sick mother. He didn't even give it a second thought._

_"I said leave her alone!" he yelled at the boy who fell to the ground. He then kicked the boy in the side and made sure the boy felt his pain._

_"You're such a loser, sticking up for some dumb girl!" one of them shouted._

"_A complete loon! He will end up with the same fate as his mother; in a__sanitarium__1__." _

_Raoul turned and showed him his fist._

_"Let's get out of here, this guy is messed in the head!" one of them shouted before they all took off._

_Raoul watched as they all fled, "That's right, you better run!" he yelled. He flexed his arm, proud of his feat._

_He turned to Christine, whose tears had now dried up on her red and puffy face. "Are you ok?" he asked softly as he crouched down on one knee beside her._

_His father had told him about the young girl who had moved into the apartment near by theirs. Her father had just recently come to work with his father at the __processing factory__2__, and that's how he found out about the girl who had no mother. He knew how she felt, considering he had no mother himself. His mother was locked up in a __sanitarium__3__ and had been for years now. Well as long he could remember…_

_Raoul was a depressed child through elementary school, till he met Christine that is. He felt so disconnected from the other children who had two parents there for them. The school councilor tried talking to him, but it was of no use. The kid had already built a brick wall around himself... and soon, around him and Christine. The draw gate wasn't opening for just anyone._

_Christine nodded slowly while she wiped the tears from her face. She looked up at the young boy who couldn't be all that much older than her. For the first time since moving to this city, she gave a genuine smile._

_"Don't worry; they'll never pick on you again. I'll always be around to make sure you're safe." Raoul promised the young girl, meaning every word at that moment._

_"Pinky promise?" she asked, standing up and wiping the sand off of her pink corduroy overalls._

_"Pinky promise and cross my __heart__ and hope to die." Raoul and Christine linked their pinkies before he crossed his heart._

_He looked around the park, making sure those boys weren't coming back. "Where's your father?" he asked._

_Christine looked around as well. She smiled. "He's here... probably in the gardens smelling the flowers. He says it reminds him of mommy."_

_Raoul gave a dishearten sigh. A sigh that a boy his age, should have never had to give. He was so young… but already, the world had claimed him at such a young age, forcing him to mature and close his heart against the world._

_"I'm Christine Devenpeck by the way." Christine smiled at the older boy, deciding she should acquaint herself._

_"I'm Raoul Gibson. Would you like to build another sand castle with me, Christine?"_

xoxo

And he kept the promise to that day. Whenever someone had called Christine a name, degraded her or done anything to make her feel sad or bad, Raoul was there, defending her and making her feel better. He was her band-aid against the word, as she would often refer to him as.

Christine's head turned and looked at Raoul. She was expecting to see a twinkle in his eyes, but his eyes were dark and serious... meaning he had something on his mind. After years of being with and around him, she could often tell his mood, even when he said nothing… and vice versa.

"Raoul, what is it?" she asked in a concerned manner.

"Christine," Raoul slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, to which Christine complied, "I love you more than anything. I… I want you to know that." he took her hands and folded them in his much larger ones.

He gently leaned forward, and placed a tender kiss on them.

"I love you too, you silly goose!" she laughed, pulling one of her hands away and slowly swatting him in the shoulder.

Raoul, who usually found it amusing how carefree she was, and how she made light of everything, felt sort of annoyed. For once in his life, he was trying to be serious, and he needed her to comply.

"No Christine, I _really _love you."

Christine took his hands into hers again and noticed they felt all sweaty. The last time she saw him this nervous, was after his father had passed away and his bills were starting to collect. Could he possibly be declaring bankruptcy again?

Raoul had never done so well when it came to wealth. From attempting to pay his bills, to keeping his mother in a decent clinic, it wasn't exactly easy for him. Christine had seen him struggle just to get a job that paid decently. She knew his options were limited. He had dropped out of high school in only grade eleven, needing a full time job to help him and his mother. But because of that, a lot of doors had closed for him.

Christine shook her head. Even if he was declaring bankruptcy again, she would find a way to help him out again. He was her boyfriend, best friend and savior. She owed him that much. But for some reason, she didn't think that was the case this time.

"What's wrong Raoul?" she demanded. She looked at him and began to freak. "Oh my God, you're not dying are you?" she panicked. "I should have known! The signs were all there! You're all sentimental... taking me on this rooftop and looking at the stars! Oh Raoul...! I'm so-"

"No Christine! I'm not dieing! Well at least not of any illness... I'm dying of love... for you!" he said quickly, cutting her off and watching her intensely to see her reaction.

Christine said nothing as she studied his eyes and words. She loved him too, but his words sounded different this time... they didn't have their light heartedness about them anymore. She sensed something more.

She waited.

"Christine," Christine looked up at Raoul, "Will you do the honor of becoming my wife?"

He felt the pressure in his stomach build up and cease at the exact moment.

Christine felt the world stop and time freeze as she gazed at Raoul who had now managed to produce a small, red velvet box, to which Christine took it with fumbled fingers and opened it up to see a small diamond on a plain band ring sitting there.

… She didn't know what to say. This was so unexpected. She and Raoul had been going great for awhile now, but she wasn't sure marriage was quite the next step for them yet.

At first she said nothing but she managed to ask, "How did you manage to afford this Raoul?" her eyes searched his, hoping not to see any sign of guilt from a crime.

"I bought it from the pawn shop down on Lexington Avenue. I know it's not much..." he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment and avoided eye contact. "But it was beautiful, cheap and I well, you know, love you so much Christine. I just want to be with you."

A salty tear slid down as her eyes rounded and her heart clenched at his beautiful, but sentimental words. It was one of the most wonderful things anyone had ever done for her before...

"Christine, I know it's somewhat soon, but will you? I just want to spend my life with you! I've given it a lot of thought, and I know we can make it work! We can live in your apartment, it's much nicer and I don't have much stuff…"

"I -"

"I know it may seem out of nowhere... but I love you so much Christine Devenpeck! I want to marry you! I want to spend the rest of my life with you! I want kids with you! I want to grow old with you!" Raoul was saying everything that came to mind, ignoring the blank look on Christine's face.

Christine looked at Raoul's handsome young face and tried to say anything... but her tongue was extremely tongue tied at that moment. What did one say in her position?

"_Christine, you'll just know that the person you love is right for you when you look into his eyes and see your love reflected there."_

She looked into his eyes and tried to see what her father had told her. But try as she might, she just didn't see it. She knew for a fact that she loved him, but she just couldn't explain that the feeling just wasn't right.

"Christine?" he asked, feeling like a complete idiot at the moment.

He didn't know what he would do if she said no. He had built up this moment so much in his mind for months now, he had forgotten the word 'no'. Besides, he loved her! And she said she loved him...

"I... I like the ring." Christine wanted to slap herself silly for saying that.

"Oh." that was all Raoul needed to hear.

Perhaps 'no', was a possibility.

"Wait," Christine grabbed Raoul's arm, "I love you Raoul, but now just isn't a good time..."

"Why not Christine? We both love each other!" he demanded of her, looking her squarely in the eyes.

"That's just it Raoul," Raoul looked at Christine in surprise, "We love each other! You can't build a marriage on just love! We need money to do all of this!" she explained.

"We'll find a way Christine! I love you, and that's all that matters!" he argued back, not seeing why money should bring them down.

True, you need money to run a marriage... but there were always ways around it. Besides, he just wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, and for all he cared, the world, the bank and money could all go to Hell!

"We could elope!" he suggested. "Right now. We'll find a Church, Cathedral- whatever! Just so long as we marry4. It's not like we have family to worry about... just us. Well there is your Aunt Grace, but we'll call her and she can meet us at the Blessed Sacrament Church or Holy Cross Church. I don't know, pick a Church!" Raoul exclaimed, saying anything that came to mind.

"Elope? I… I love you too Raoul, but we're still young and we need to put our lives together before we can even consider getting married!" Christine argued. "You still need a lot of growing up to do! We need better careers, I need to finish university5, and isn't it rude to just marry without telling anyone?"

"Screw the world! If you want everyone to know, I'll stand up and scream it to everyone in Manhattan! I'll pay a jet plane owner to spell it out in the skies for Christ's sakes!" Raoul yelled, prepared to do anything.

Raoul felt that this was the right thing to do, and couldn't grasp why Christine didn't feel the same. Honestly, who cared about anyone else, it was just them! Just them!

"We can't." she stated finally, after a few moments. She had to make it clear to him.

"Christine!" Raoul called as Christine grabbed her book bag and her purse and got up and began to head towards the building's door in a fast manner. She needed out of there. She needed to go somewhere where she didn't feel pressured. She needed to think. _I just can't do this…_

"What?" she turned and faced him. "I just can't do this Raoul! Not now at least!"

"Where are you going?" he asked softly, holding back the tears that were threatening to claim him.

"Home." she retorted.

Raoul watched as she opened the building's door and slammed it behind her. The only sound he heard was the banging of the door slam.

He looked down at the ring, and clutched it in his hand, till it hurt and there was a bit of blood being drawn.

A single tear fell from his eye as he stood up and raced to the edge of the roof. He gazed at the streets below and could see lights and people walking up and down the streets. They knew nothing of pain.

A sob escaped from his mouth as he threw the diamond ring away from him as if he had been burned. He watched as it disappeared into the billowy night time skies.

xoxo

Christine walked home in utter misery. She felt guilt wash over her for saying no and just leaving like that, but she knew it was the right decision. Raoul still had to get his act together before the two could just marry like that. Love couldn't hold everything together... no matter how much they wanted it to.

As she walked down the night time streets of New York, she felt like everyone was watching her. As if they knew what had just happened on the rooftop of the skyscraper… like they could see right through her, down to the very core of her soul. She felt naked in front of everyone.

"Get a hold of yourself, Christine!" she muttered to herself. "Proposals are turned down everyday... nobody knows! You're just acting paranoid!" she groaned. "Oh God, now I'm talking to myself!"

Still, her thoughts were struck with the feeling that everyone knew everything about her; that there wasn't a place in the world where she could hide from everyone. When she looked into people's eyes, it was as if people were seeing through her very core and to her utmost horrible sins. The world was a place filled with dark and dreary lives.

Christine paused as she saw a young man with a mask on his face turning down an offer from someone not to far down the sidewalk. She was struck by the mask and wondered why he had to wear such an uncomfortable looking thing. But what she found most curious about him was... he seemed different from the world.

"Excuse me Miss," Christine's thoughts were interrupted as she looked at a fairly old man who had just come up to her, "Would you like to buy a rose for your special someone? I have a great deal on."

Christine said nothing and he took that as a yes as he showed her a booth filled with every color under the spectrum, of roses. Christine stared at them for a moment, her insides feeling numb as his words began to register in her mind.

"Miss?"

Christine let out a cry before running down the street.

xoxo

_20 Pine Street, Manhattan Plaza._

Erik knocked on the door timidly, feeling sick with anticipation. He felt like any second now, his knees were going to buckle, or his heart would burst from being so nervous. He didn't think that a simple question could make one feel so nervous. Yet here he was, feeling like he was going to pass out or that the walls of the already small hallway, were suddenly going to close in on him.

"Erik, is that you?" a girl's voice called from the other side of the door.

"Uh yeah, it's me!" Erik called back, running his hand through his midnight black tendrils of hair in worry.

"Just give me a moment! I'll be out in a sec!" she called back, fumbling around on the other side of the locked door.

Erik took this moment, and biting his tongue, fixed the red rose in the pocket of his finely tailored coat and made sure his white mask was firmly in place. He then ran his hand through his hair to make sure it was in perfect condition for Monique.

Monique was his girlfriend of four years. They had begun dating back in college 6when Erik was a senior and Monique was a sophomore. They had run into each other in the cafeteria, spilling food all over each other. It had been quite the experience for reclusive Erik...

xoxo

_5 years ago. February 2, 2002._

_State University of New York__7_

_Erik walked through the cafeteria -a tray with food on it- in hand. His eyes scanned the tables for any empty ones... but he was without luck. Every table in there occupied at least one person, much to his disgust. And he wouldn't dare sit at a table with someone else. He was what was called the 'loner' in college. His mask separated him from everyone else. _

_This was why he wasn't much of a Catholic, much to his mother's dismay. Although being brought up as a Catholic, -baptism, confirmation and all- his curse led him to believe there was no God at all._

_Erik, to lost in searching for a table, didn't realize the pretty brunette walking towards him. At least not till he was suddenly toppling backwards and losing grip on his tray of food._

_He contained his snide comment or his cry of pain as he landed hard on the paved flooring of the cafeteria. _

_The room that first filled with an awkward silence and cold stares, became the room of laughter and nasty comments directed at the masked man_

_He immediately struggled and tried to get up, needing out of the room._

_"Oh my God, are you ok?" he heard a beautiful voice ask in concern._

_Erik's eyes fluttered open and he noticed he was on the floor next to a beautiful girl with food all over him and her. He was immediately embarrassed and felt guilty for crashing into her and spilling food all over her. _

_He paused, waiting for her screams to join din when she saw his mask._

_"Are you ok?" she asked again._

_Erik felt his face in fear and sighed in relief when he felt the mask was still planted firmly on his face. He refused to go even one day without his mask... again, much to his mother's dismay._

_"I'm so s -" Erik was cut off by one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard._

_The pretty girl was laughing. And it was no ordinary mockery laughter. No... It was something beautiful! She was laughing at the incident, not him!_

_"Why are you laughing?" Erik asked in shock. He had just ruined her outfit and lunch, and here she was, laughing._

_"I... I -" the girl couldn't get any words in without laughing even harder._

_Erik sat there dumbfounded, waiting for the pretty girl to say something._

_Finally her laughing ceased and she looked at Erik, smiling brightly. This left him more confused... what pretty girl would ever smile at him? The only smile he had ever received was from his mother... who did not count._

_"I'm Monique Harris." she held out her hand to him._

_He looked at her hand for a moment before taking it gently and shaking it. He was absolutely stunned when she offered him her hand. He would have thought she would be repulsed and just leave._

_"I'm Erik Devereux."_

_"Well Erik, since we're both wearing each other's meals, how about I buy us a new lunch?" she laughed._

_Erik was shocked. Was she asking him on a date? He had never been asked on a date before. But he was no idiot; he would obviously accept the pretty girl's offer. It would give him a dose of some social life._

_"I'd like that." he smiled._

xoxo

Erik pulled out a black velvet box from his pocket and opened it up, gazing at the small diamond ring inside of it.8

His plan tonight, was to propose to Monique at dinner. He had already planned on the waiter putting the engagement ring in her glass of wine. He could picture her getting all excited and screaming yes and hugging him; a vision of perfection if you asked him. And after… well they would enjoy the pleasures of the bed for the very first time.

He had thought this through for quite some time now, and felt he was ready to commit. What would be nicer than being joined to the one you loved, for eternity?

Suddenly he heard the sound of the locks being undone and the door being opened, and quickly stuffed the velvet box back into his pocket before she noticed.

"There you are!" he exclaimed, covering up his nervousness.

Monique smiled, hugged him and asked, "How do I look?" she took his hand and used it to twirl her around, before embracing him once again.

"You look beautiful... as usual." he kissed her cheek.

"You always know just what to say." she giggled. "You look dashing yourself."

His eyes raked over her body, taking in everything. She was wearing a snug, black, cocktail, spaghetti dress that landed just above her knees. The dress was low cut, giving a nice view of the size of her breasts. She had black high heels on, making her look thin, tall and very elegant. But despite the high heels, she only reached Erik's chin. She wore a pair of strappy black stilettos. Her hair was up in a bun, a few strands hanging loose, framing her soft delicate face.

Erik never liked buns, thinking them to not be very feminine... but Monique made them look beautiful. This was the only exception for buns, he thought as he glanced at her again.

"So where are we going my prince charming?" she smiled, looping her arm through his.

_I'm no prince charming. _"Somewhere special, my princess." he said gently, leaning in and kissing her mouth, before leading her away.

xoxo

_Pastis Bistro._

Erik pulled the chair out for Monique as she sat down in it gingerly and smoothed out her dress, before he pushed her in. She smiled at the sweet gesture as he sat down across from her.

Erik had made sure that when he had the table reserved, that it was near the back of the restaurant where it was much darker and less people were around. He wanted it to be private and special. Not to mention the fact that he couldn't stand people.

His eyes scanned the small table, making sure they had done their job. He was paying big bucks for perfection. He was impressed by the site that greeted them; a white satin cloth rested atop of the black round table. In the center, sat a small vase with two red roses. And around them, were small scented candles that had already been lit.

He noticed the bucket that sat beside the table, filled with ice and a bottle of some expensive champagne.

_Cost does not matter._

His gaze landed on Monique, and he smiled softly as he noticed that she seem to like the restaurant. He wanted everything to be perfect for his future bride.

"It's so beautiful." Monique smiled, picking up the rose and caressing its red petals gently.

Erik smiled at her, happy and relieved that she loved it.

"Thank you." she leaned inwards and caught Erik's mouth in a soft kiss.

While her hands rested on his shoulders, his hands went out and cupped her face, pulling him in closer. Well as close as you could get from across the table. He let out a moan, as her mouth opened, giving him entrance to her tongue. He instantly complied, deepening it further.

Monique felt everything around them become fuzzy while the two went into their own world. She had to say, she was happy the way things were turning out for them. The two had been dating for four years now, and everything was going great. Of course there were still obstacles the two would one day have to pass in the future… but she would rather not think of that now.

The two were interrupted as a waiter came over and made a slight coughing noise, making Monique and Erik break apart and look up sheepishly. "What would you two like to drink this fine evening?" he asked, taking out a notepad and a pen.

"White wine for both of us." Erik replied casually, wanting to talk to the man in private.

The waiter bent forward, picking up the bottle of champagne, and left. Erik watched him, feeling a bit edgy. There was still one more thing that needed to be said…

"White wine... that's very romantic." Monique said softly, looking him in the eye. "I love that." she leaned across the table once more, her face a breath away from his…

"I'll be right back; I have to use the restroom quickly." Erik said quickly, dodging the kiss and coming up with an excuse to leave the table.

"Alright, but be quick." she pouted as she pulled back and cocked her head at him as he stood.

Erik stood up and made a move to catch the waiter before he disappeared into the kitchen. Monique watched him for a few moments, before getting lost in her own thoughts.

A picture of his mask came to her mind. She had never said anything about it to him, not caring. She knew though, that if the two ever wanted to continue their lives together, they were going have to get past the mask. Marriage needed full trust on both sides.

_All in good time._ She thought sadly.

"Excuse me, waiter!" Erik called as he managed to maneuver himself around the many tables and people in the bustling night time restaurant.

The waiter managed to hear his calls and turned to face him. "Yes? I'm sorry, was there anything else you would like sir?" he politely asked, ignoring the mask on the man's face.

As long as he received one nice tip, he would willingly serve the devil for all he cared.

"Yes, I have another request." Erik said slowly as he produced the ring from his pocket. "I want you to place this ring," he held it up. "In the bottom of one of the wine glasses and give the glass to the young lady I'm dining with."

"Oh, of course." the waiter smiled, taking the ring from the masked man's hand. He was actually quite used to this.

"Just please, don't lose that ring." Erik growled softly, not meaning to sound harsh.

"Yes, of course sir." The waiter said, looking at Erik cautiously.

Erik nodded and made his way back victoriously and sat back down again across from Monique, who smiled at him, completely oblivious to what he had just done. "That didn't take you very long." she smiled as she took his hand across the table, and squeezed it.

"They have impeccably clean bathrooms here." Erik lied to her.

Monique laughed. "Leave it to you to point out a fact about the bathrooms on a romantic date." Erik felt himself go red, which only made Monique laugh even harder.

"Oh Erik, you're something else... which is why I love you so much." Monique caressed his bare cheek, which the mask did not touch.

"I love you too Monique... oh, and the waiter is here!" Erik pulled back from her touch and watched the waiter anxiously.

Monique looked up as the waiter set down Erik's glass of wine and winked at Erik before placing Monique's glass down in front of her. He then set the bottle down on the table. The waiter wanted to watch... but knew it was time to go. He quietly excused himself.

Erik took a sip of his glass, but watched as Monique raised her glass up.

She lifted it to her lips, before something caught the reflection of what light there was, and twinkled. "What is that?" Monique gasped.

"Why don't you look...?" Erik suggested.

Monique looked into his eyes and saw them twinkle, before taking and sticking one of her forks in the glass and pulling the ring out. She held it in the palm of her hand at first, not quite sure what to say, but shocked none the less.

"Erik is this... is this, what I think it is?" she gasped, looking up at him, her mouth agape.

Erik nodded and laughed at the shock on her face. He had been thinking this for a long time now and knew that this was right. He loved her and she loved him... what could possibly go wrong?

"Oh my..." she said slowly, placing her hand on her forehead in a calming manner.

"Well...?" Erik pushed a bit.

She looked up at him. "This is a big decision Erik... are... are you sure this is what we need right now?" she asked in shock.

This was the last thing Monique had been expecting from Erik. She knew that their relationship had been going well for quite awhile now... but she always thought Erik wasn't the commitment type… which is why she was so shocked when he proposed now. Although it did make her happy to know Erik was considering a real commitment and a future with her... which meant maybe they did have a future together.

She admitted that she loved him, but a few problems still stood in the way. Money was not one of them, but the mask most certainly was. She needed him to feel safe around her and trust her. After all, marriage was just another fancy word for bond and trust. Maybe if he could do that for her, marriage would just about be right.

"Of course, I love you Monique! The sooner we commit to each other, the sooner we can spend the rest of our lives together! Isn't that what you want?" he demanded of her.

Monique paused for a moment. She decided to ignore his question. "How come if you love me as you say you do, you never show me what's underneath your mask? I didn't want to have to ask you this Erik..."

Erik felt everything still and crack at the mention of his mask. He should have known that it would come down to this. But he couldn't blame her for wanting to see the man she was marrying. But it was still his cross to bear. And now he had to face the music.

"I love you so much Monique..." he trailed off, not knowing how to respond to the mask thing, and not wanting to blow up at her for asking him to do such a thing as taking his mask off.

"But not enough to show me what you look like." she whispered as her eyes began to fill with the wet liquid.

"This is just as hard for me as it is for you!" Erik whispered harshly.

The room suddenly felt hot and bright. He took his jacket off and wiped his arm across his brow, removing the sweat that was now building up. He knew that no one was actually watching, but it didn't feel that way at that moment.

"How so? I love you more than anything! If you can't even show me what you look like, how do you expect this marriage to work? If you actually tried, our love could endure anything!" she spit back.

"Love can't fix everything..." Erik whispered brokenly. "I am who I am."

"It can't it if you won't even give it a try!" she threw her hands up, feeling like she was arguing with a wall.

A tear slid and fell onto the table. Erik watched a wet circle form on the table cloth and had a great desire to go over to the violinist, -who was by the pianist- take it, and smash it. Pull the stings one string at a time... like his heart.

_Twisted as I am, I still love her._

"Please don't push this Monique..." Erik begged, not wanting to make a spectacle.

"Erik, I love you but you obviously don't love me as much as you say you do. I don't think you even understand the meaning of love!" she whispered harshly back. "I want to love you... believe that. I truly do."

"I know more about love than you could possibly even begin to know! I've spent my whole life in rejection, not _once _receiving an ounce of compassion! I know what it feels like to have nothing, squat! I'm willing to give up everything I've ever known, just to be with you!" Erik growled.

"That's it though, Erik... I can't give you my full love unless you drop your final barrier." a tear fell down her cheek once again.

"Monique..." he pleaded.

"I'm sorry Erik, but I have to go. Our time is ill wasted fighting the inevitable." Monique whispered as she stood up from the table. She dropped the napkin from her lap on the table and turned to leave.

The waiter looked upon the scene with a heart of sorrow. The masked man looked like he had lost the world. He wondered though, if the rejection was because of the mask or because of something more.

_Only time can heal one's wounds._

"Where are you going?" Erik asked, fear evident as day, in his voice. His eyes widened.

"Home, Erik. I'm going home." she muttered, not once looking in his eyes. She knew if she did, she would finally crack.

Erik watched her leave in devastation. This wasn't at all how he planned it to go. He should have known that his mask would undo all of it... that she would ask to see. She just didn't understand... once she saw, she would scream and flee like every other person in his life had. It was _his_ cross to bear.

He was alone once more.

xoxo

Erik walked down the dismal streets of New York in utter misery. His life was in ruins and shambles. His only love turned him down and it was all because of the abominable mask that lay on his face and his curse that lay underneath.

He felt like everyone was staring at his face and silently mocking the fact that he was turned down by his girlfriend. Everyone seemed to know everything these days. There wasn't a spot in the world where you could just hide.

He paused on the street as he noticed a beautiful girl looking at him. But she didn't seem to be staring at him for his mask or mocking him for the rejection... it seemed she was as much in pain as he was. He wondered why such a beautiful girl could be suffering. She obviously wasn't lacking in looks and looked like any guy would throw himself at her just for a simple 'hi'.

"Excuse me, sir," Erik paused as an old man addressed him, "Would you like to buy a rose for that special someone? I have great deals on."

"No thank you." Erik said politely trying not to snap, as he immediately began walking away. He was almost half tempted to turn and yell at that man that his someone special wasn't so special. That in this lifetime, no one ever really received love... everyone was conniving and just used each other.

He continued, but stopped in front of a large, luminous Cathedral. He wasn't sure why, it's not like he was religious. But he felt something stir inside him as he saw candles flickering from inside the Cathedral. Was it guilt? Guilt for having not gone to Church enough after growing up or not believing in God? But his eyes were brought up to the large crucifix on top of the roof and his anger returned. If God was real, he was a cruel entity! How could he make him suffer this much?!

"Your time was ill wasted, creating me... if you're even real." he spat.

He continued on through the dark streets, not wanting to go back to his house quite yet... but he stopped in his tracks as he saw something shine from the ground. He immediately bent over and picked up a small diamond ring.

xoxo

_Christine's Apartment. Room 47, __floor 5__9_

Christine slammed her apartment door closed and dropped her jacket on the ground, not caring.

"I hate life." she muttered dismally, giving into her tears.

She went over to the radio in the dark room and turned it on; hoping the sounds of melodies would wipe away her misery. A song came on immediately, only making Christine more miserable.

_Say Goodbye to the world_

_you thought you lived in..._

_Take a bow,_

_Play the part_

_of a lonely, lonely heart..._

_Say goodbye to the world _

you thought you lived in...

_To the world you thought you lived in..._

Christine cried harder as she flung herself on the couch and tried to block out the song's words.

_I try to live alone..._

_But lonely is so lonely..._

_So human as I am,_

_I had to give up my defenses..._

She pressed her hands to her ears in agony and began to scream. But her screams died down and she stared at the ceiling, positive she was just living a nightmare.

_Say Goodbye to the world you thought you lived in._

xoxo

_Erik's house._

Erik shut the front door behind him and picked the rose from the pocket of his coat and squeezed its life out of it.

"Misery is a part of me..." he muttered as he dropped the dead rose on the ground.

He went over to the stereo in the den and turned it on. The stereo was hardly ever used as he normally made his own music on the grand piano he had. But for some reason he just needed something different.

_In any other world,_

_you could tell the difference..._

_And let it all unfurl_

_into broken remenance..._

_Cos its all in the hands _

_of a bitter, bitter man..._

_Say Goodbye to the world _

_you thought you lived in..._

_Take a bow,_

_play the part_

_of a lonely, lonely heart..._

_Say goodbye to the world_

_you thought you lived in..._

_To the world you thought you lived in..._

Erik felt even worse as the words hit home. He _was_ a lonely, lonely heart... and he always would be.

Say Goodbye to the world you thought you lived in.


	2. Nice to Meet You, I'm Deformed

Last Chapter: Two couples and two engagements. Both result in the same answer; no.

xoxo

Chapter 2: Nice to Meet You, I'm deformed.

Christine awoke to the sounds of bitter rain pelting the windows of her apartment that dark damp and dreary morning. Her eyes solemnly fell immediately upon the distinguished digital alarm clock that sat on a cluttered desk in the corner of her room which read '3:03 AM' in its vast bright red lettering. She groaned, throwing herself over and onto her stomach. She was upset at how early it was and wished that she could forever sleep and live in her dreams. Reality was a tremendous drag.

"Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in." Christine muttered into the pillow, recalling that one line from the song on the radio last night; the one line that seemed to be haunting her… even in her dreams.

She burst into tears at the reality of the words. Our friendship is definitely over now. He won't want to be my friend now... what will I do? Raoul had been her best friend for as long as she could remember... losing him was like losing a leg or an important limb. She honestly and truly did love him... but not enough to offer her hand in marriage. She couldn't explain it… but she just felt there was something more in life; that there were still options and doors waiting to be opened. Was it wrong to feel this way?

"Was I wrong to have said no?" she whispered as more tears continued to caress her cheeks and the pillow.

Her dad had once told her, that in this world, there was always someone to complete them. She would then ask him the obvious question. Did mommy complete you? He would give a deep masculine laugh and say 'yes'. That laugh would then fade into a slight crease, and then a frown as sorrow took hold of his handsome face.

For the longest while, she had never understood why her father would retreat to his bedroom after she had asked him that.

"Are you ok Daddy?" her soft voice called from outside his locked bedroom doorway. She had tried the handle a few times, but alas, it was locked. She would usually just sit down in front of the door till her father came out; which was usually hours… even days.

As she grew older, she learned to hold her tongue and never speak of her mother…

But for some unknown reason, Christine felt that Raoul just wasn't the one to complete her... yet she loved him. Emotions and feelings were complicated. She could have sworn that Grade 12 calculus1 was easier than deciphering one's heart.

Christine sat up and decided she might as well get up. "I'm not going to be able to sleep again." she muttered as she dragged herself into her messy bedroom closet that was spilling forwards with clothing, and picked out a pair of jeans and a light blue pullover.

For once she actually wished she had work or school that Saturday morning. It would distract her mind and not let it wander to things she'd rather not think about.

She turned as she heard the pitter patter of small feet enter her opened door bedroom.

"Hi Mr. Jube." she said softly to the small orange and white kitty that sauntered into the room and was now rubbing himself against her legs. Mr. Jube was her nickname for the orange cat named Angus.

She finished getting dressed and finally picked the small kitty up, much to his delight. She rubbed her face against his, before burying her face in his fur and breathing in the scent of him.

"I wish my life were as simple as yours..." she sighed as she looked into his round and bright happy yellow eyes.

The cat began to purr in response.

She set the cat down and walked to the front door with Angus following her. She turned to him and gently told him, "I'm going for a walk Mr. Jube. Love you baby." she blew a kiss to the kitty whose wide eyes looked up at her with adoration and oblivion.

As she left into the morning, the winds caressed her face, almost whispering to her. 'Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in.'

The bitter words of contempt haunted her. Yet, she had not the faintest idea that perhaps those few words had more meaning than an 'I love you' ever would.

xoxo

Erik stared at the ceiling in anger, misery and most of all, self loathing. He couldn't believe he had let himself believe that he could find love… true love. Every woman asked for the same thing in the end. He thought Monique would be different from all the rest, but boy had he been wrong.

"She did deserve to know." He reasoned with only himself and the walls. "But she shouldn't have pushed it…" he sighed, anger filling his inner being. He couldn't decide who was right or wrong anymore and what to do.

Erik sat up and glanced at the Grandfather clock in the corner of the den. He groaned at the time when it read '2:59 AM'. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore. How could he when his thoughts and heart were consumed with complete and utter misery?

"Dear God..." he muttered as he stood on wobbly feet and looked out the blinds and could see the rain falling dismally from the blackened skies.

The skies fit his mood to the bill.

He turned, and leaned against the bar that was connected to the kitchen. He closed his eyes against the sharp loud noise as a few wine glasses shattered on the kitchen floor on the other side of the half wall when his elbow accidentally knocked them.

Not even bothering to grab a glass or to even clean up the mess, he grabbed a bottle of vodka nearest to him, and just raised it to his mouth, accepting the liquid most graciously

He never even noticed the sting or strange taste of the vodka, just appreciating the way it made him feel as it consumed him.

Monique just came to mind, causing him to keep drinking more and more. Eventually he gave into his abject, sobs wracking his body as the bottle slipped from his grasp and shattered on the hard wood floor.

"It's my fault." He whispered his masked side and non masked side going into the palms of his hands. "I forced her away." He looked up and out the window into the cold night, considering his options.

'Say Goodbye to the world you thought you lived in.' whispered those few words he hated more than anything in the world right now.

He needed out of here. He couldn't stand being in this house being consumed and reminded of her or anyone else. He needed to just be free and be alone.

He made his way to the master bedroom, taking off his tie and nicely tailored clothing he had bought just for the proposal. He paid no heed as he dropped his articles of clothing along the way. I'll deal with it later. He thought as he put on a simple pair of black pants and a long sleeved cotton black shirt on. He then made his way to the front entrance and put on his leather trench coat and walked out the door, not sure what in God's name he was doing anymore.

xoxo

Christine walked bare foot through the sands of the wet beach2 at three thirty in the morning.3 She could feel the sand clinging to the bottom of her pair of jeans and the water soaking her brown curls and clothing. But she didn't care. She didn't give a damn about anything anymore.

She let the rain that was coming down in thick heavy sheets, embrace at her cold trembling body. So heavy was the rain, she felt like she was actually swimming.

She sighed in frustration as she tried to wipe away thoughts of Raoul, but just couldn't. She wanted to talk to him so badly, yet she just wanted to run away and dig herself a hole and hide at the same time. She was pent up with conflicting emotions about everything... and could swear it was going to tear her apart.

She barely even noticed as her tears began to intermingle with the raindrops as she was too caught up in her distraught thoughts.

Looking up at the dark skies, she felt relief wash over her as it was Saturday, her day off from her part time job as a waitress at a singing club and from school. She worked at this singing club part time to pay for her universities4 besides the loans she had received from the Government5. Basically all she did was serve drinks and food and sing on the stage every so often. For the most part, she enjoyed her job. It didn't hurt either though, that she was friends with her boss, Tom.

Raoul use to come and visit and listen... Her thoughts reminded her dismally, causing more tears to trek down her cheek and her body to judder ever so slightly.

She pushed him from her mind again as she thought of her schooling. She was in her fourth year of university going for her bachelor's degree in journalism6. She had high hopes of one day being a journalist for the New York Times or for any big named News Paper7. Her love for journalism began when she was a little kid. She smiled slightly, as she recalled how she use to make her dad drive past car accidents or any other kind of accident and then go home and write about it in her pink journal. That caused her to inwardly chuckle.

"You can do anything you want Christine, sweetheart. The world is in the palm of your hands. Just promise me you'll never give up on your dreams. Promise me you'll dream on." her father had repeatedly told her that throughout her childhood. And she had always tried to make her dad proud by doing exactly what she wanted; being a journalist.

Her thoughts turned dismal once again as she recalled the day of his death. For years her father had lived with Cancer. He spent quite a bit of his time in the hospital while Christine lived with her Aunt Grace because her mother had passed away after she had given birth to her. Her and her father both knew his day was coming, and he didn't want to die in the hospital. He wanted to die in the apartment he lived in with his daughter. He had some papers signed and was soon released and went home. A few weeks later he had a stroke in the middle of the night and that was the fateful end of a sad tale.

Christine, an orphan girl at the tender age of eleven, went to live with her Aunt Grace. Although she dearly loved her Aunt, she missed her dad so much, she went into a deep depression where she refused to eat and slept most of the time and her grades began to slip, along with her health.

Of course her Aunt Grace had tried putting her through counseling, but that did not work. In fact it made Christine even worse. But as Christine aged into a young woman, she discovered just how much she enjoyed music. Mostly because when you got involved, it took away the pain. She had begged her Aunt to let her go to a music school and her Aunt feeling pity for the young thing, obliged. She began to become more experienced over the years, playing a lot of Beethoven's work, up till the days of Aero Smith. Then she discovered singing. And that become her newest obsession.

She always figured that if her journalist career didn't go far, she could rely on her music; if her journalist career didn't go far. She didn't plan on letting that happen.

xoxo

Erik pulled the clutch as he parked his black Saturn Sky8 in the empty parking lot of the nearest beach to his home9 and sat there for a few moments, just staring out the window at the merciless black sky, to which the rain was falling heavily from.

He didn't really know where he was or why he was there. He just drove. He refused to walk, not allowing himself to be out in public where people could ridicule him. He looked at the clock in his car. If anyone is even out. But this was New York; there were always people round and about.

He felt lonely and depressed. But he wasn't too shocked. He'd felt that way his whole life. No one had ever been there for him. No one had ever given him love or given him the chance to love them. Everyone stayed away from him as soon as they saw the white mask that seemed to be molded into Erik's face. He couldn't help but feel lonely... he was after all, only human. And humans depend and thrive on other human being's company. That was just reality.

When he was a little boy at the small age of four, his mother abandoned him on the doorstep of a random house, not being able to handle her… well, special child. He had no father at this time either, because when his father had found out Erik's mom was pregnant, he immediately disappeared without a word or trace. He was lucky that the doorstep he landed on happened to be a fairly old woman who was just as lonely as he was.

Her name was Lilliana. Lilliana was a widow whose children had stopped visiting her over the years. She had no one to talk to... so when she discovered this bundle of tears, she immediately felt compassion and took this baby into her house and raised him. Being the true Catholic that she was, she tried to ignore his outer flaws and love him like he was any normal child.

Don't get him wrong... he loved Lilliana, but like a son loved a mother. He didn't want a mother. He wanted a woman to love him for whom he was and never leave him. He wanted a wife. He had thought he had found that with Monique…

"Obviously not." He muttered.

Memories of Church and Prep passed through his mind as he thought of his mother once more.

"Church is to give you a reason in life Erik. Without God, you will always feel there is nothing. Now that I've given you someone to believe in, you'll never feel insecure about anything. It gives you purpose... and I think everyone needs purpose in life, no matter how much they deny it." Lilliana explained to young Erik the day before he was to be confirmed a Catholic.

"But why would God do this to me?" Erik pointed to his masked face, swallowing his tears.

"Everyone has their crosses to bear Erik. That is yours. Just remember that the day you're judged, you won't be judged by how you look... but by your actions in life and by your heart." she said softly, patting his chest where his heart beat.

"But death is so far away... till then, I want to feel the joys of love like any other. How can anyone ever bear to love me?" he voiced his one ultimate fear.

"Love looks not with the eyes Erik, but with the mind."

Erik put his face in his hands and sighed bitterly. Those words could not possibly be true.

Since the day those words had been spoken and Erik felt he would never actually find love, he decided the best way to avenge his lack of love due to his hideous corpse like face, was to build him up and make himself a business tycoon. He started off by studying his ass of in high school to gain scholarships for college. His mother Lilliana helped by paying for some of it with the money she had been given from her husband's death. Meanwhile, he took a few loans from the Government10.

During this time, he made quite a bit of money by tutoring students -who didn't mind being around him- in music. He taught them how to read notes and play the piano. He refused to get a part time job at a restaurant or department store. He didn't like all the strange people, the uniforms that had to be worn, and he felt it was to beneath him.

Once college ended, he went into university.11 This was where he earned his bachelor of business administration degree. After university was over, he began buying and selling stocks and then buying certain business corporations. This was where all the money began to pour in. All he really used the money for, was to build himself a nice home for him and his mother and buy expensive things. But all the money in the world couldn't buy him the one thing he truly wanted.

He could always recall one thing Lilliana would say.

"Erik, you should be giving this money to charities or to Churches. Spend it on noble causes. That is one happiness in life, which you'll never cease to tire of."

He would then always tell her that he was going to one day, but he just never got around to it. And he figured he probably never would. He had decided the first day she said that, that when God gave him something genuine and pure of love -that was not from an animal or a plant-, he would believe in God, go to Church again (actually pay attention) and donate to noble causes. Till then, his heart would remain frozen to the world. No love Lilliana ever gave him would change his mind on that either.

A tear rolled down Erik's marred face as he thought of his crummy existence. Some days he wished he could just end his pathetic existence and find a cliff. But then he would remember Lilliana and what Lilliana had said about suicide being a mortal sin. And normally he wouldn't care because it was religion, but he just couldn't do it.

"I thought money and power would make me happy..." Erik muttered, tears just rolling downwards. "Oh who am I kidding? All I want is love from a woman." he cried. He cried for a few more minutes, his heart yearning for love from another…

… That is, till he saw something strange. "What in God's name?" he said to himself as he saw the figure of a woman standing in the middle of the beach.

He squinted his eyes and pushed the key back into the ignition, and turned the car on. He flicked on the wipers, and leaned forwards, trying to get a better view.

There, standing in the middle of the beach, was a woman. Her arms were lifted and she stared off distantly into the raging sea as the rain grew stronger, the black clouds dispensing it.

Erik threw open his door, not knowing what on Earth he was doing, and shut it behind him before walking towards the dark figure when he saw how she moved closer to the water as the tide seemed to come in. He worried at first, what her intentions were, causing him to pick up his pace and break into a brisk walk.

He began to see more of a better view of the young girl as he neared closer. He was shocked at first at the obvious beauty this girl radiated. Despite being sopping wet, her face was alabaster like with pouty lips and sharp sapphire blue eyes that he felt he could lose himself in. She had long tendrils of curly brown hair that hung limply around her face and down her back. And he could see from how wet her clothing was -as it was clinging to her- that she had one of the most beautiful figures. Nicely sized breasts and delicious curves… she was the ideal woman.

He scolded himself when he realized where his thoughts were going. He should not think that way of her, as she would probably be repulsed. And no woman would ever compare to Monique… his Monique.

He sighed as he realized she wasn't doing what he thought she may be doing. She's not suicidal. Probably just drunk. She just stood there; her feet planted firmly in the soft sand as the bits of the tide seeped in, covering her feet and the bottom of her jeans, before washing away.

He was about to turn away and walk away; when he noticed how blood shot her eyes were against the dark night.

"Crappy night too?" he asked from behind her, wondering what she would do when she saw him. Guess I'll find out.

The girl turned and looked at him and he was expecting a scream or horror to light up in her eyes before she went running away. But she did neither, much to his shock and relief.

Christine's eyes raked over Erik at first. The first thing she noticed was the mask and was a little put out by it at first, but decided she didn't care. She knew that whatever was under it probably wasn't great and wasn't going to prod… but telling from the other side of his face -that was not obscured by a mask- that he would have been a very attractive man if not for the mask. She had to admit though that he was already quite handsome, despite the mask. He was tall with midnight black hair hanging wetly over his face and mask and he had a five o' clock shadow. He was dressed quite immaculately and she could tell immediately that he was wealthy.

"How did you ever guess?" she laughed slightly, pretending that she had no worries whatsoever.

He'll leave eventually. She thought. She wondered why she wasn't uncomfortable by him. Normally if any man came up to her, especially at this time… she would be panicking and trying to leave. Instead, she felt an unusual sense of calm encompass her as he made small talk with her.

"Well, standing on the beach bear12 foot in the pouring rain at three thirty in the morning kind of tipped me off." he chuckled, keeping his distance from her.

Christine smiled slightly, before responding, "I guess you can say life isn't favoring me at this current moment."

"Well don't worry, life isn't favoring me either. It never is." Erik replied honestly, staring off into the restless seas13 as he thought once more of Monique.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked, looking into his skeptical eyes. "Sometimes it helps to tell a stranger. I don't know you or your life, so I'm not biased."

Erik looked at her for a few moments, figuring out in his mind, what to say. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he didn't mind being completely honest to this stranger who stood before him. He had nothing to lose, and she seemed genuinely nice... but then everyone did these days. The most sinful and wicked always seemed perfect at first.

"I'm deformed." he responded. He figured if he told her now, she'd never ask him to remove his mask and that would be the end of it. It wasn't like he had anything to lose... she was a stranger after all. The chances of them seeing each other after this morning were next to nothing.

"I'm deformed on the inside." she replied succinctly. She did not meet his eyes, but stared distantly at the dark sky.

Erik looked at her in curiosity. She seemed different from everyone else... in a good way.

"Did that catch you off guard?" she laughed slightly as she turned and saw his expression.

"You're not like anyone I've met before... that's for sure."

"Is that good or bad?" she asked.

"It is good." he responded before asking, "So what troubles really bring you here?"

She looked up at him and he saw a tear fall from her eye. For some reason he actually felt the need to wipe it away. He was kind of shocked by how he was feeling. He normally hated anything social and people in general, yet here he stood, talking to a woman in the morning, in the pouring rain. Would make an interesting novel. He thought as he stared at her.

"My boyfriend proposed to me tonight." she whispered softly her voice carrying a soft pained tone.

"Oh," he spoke, waiting for her to continue.

"I-I told him no."

He paused. "Is there any particular reason?" he gently prodded.

"I-I honestly don't know anymore... I mean I feel like I love him... shouldn't I want to say yes? But for some reason... I-I just couldn't. I feel like such a horrible person! If you could have seen the look on his face... never have I felt so horrible before! I don't know how I'm going to live with myself." Christine began to cry as she opened her heart to the masked man.

He paused, collecting his thoughts as he thought of what to say. He realized he wasn't far off from her predicament at all. "I know I'm not experienced in the department of dating and love... but if you really loved this man, you wouldn't have even paused to take even a breath. You would have just known it was the right thing." she looked up at him for a moment. "Maybe you don't really love him." He commented softly.

Christine looked at Erik's silhouette in the darkness and let his words wash over her. She didn't want to admit it, but his words had a point. Maybe she really didn't love Raoul... but he was like her security blanket; she couldn't lose him.

'Say Goodbye to the world you thought you lived in.' the recurring whisper stated. Perhaps everything was changing?

"I've told you my problem, now it's your turn." Christine whispered as she looked at him, deciding she didn't want to say anything more. She felt funny and miserable all at once… if that were possible.

He realized she didn't want to talk about it and dropped it, not caring. "I've always been alone in life... and well a few years ago, I finally met someone and we fell in love. My plan was to propose to her tonight... and I did." Erik started, looking into Christine's eyes.

Christine stared at him, feeling strangely connected to the stranger. They seem to have had similar, yet very different lives.

"She told me no." he sighed wistfully and miserably.

Christine waited. She couldn't explain why... but she felt like she had known him for a much longer time. Despite just meeting him today, no thoughts of him maybe just using her even remotely ran through her head.

"She told me she loved me... but it led to the mask."

"I take it she knows about your 'problem'?" Christine said softly.

"I've never told her what it is under here... she's never asked. I figured she probably knew there was something wrong with me. But tonight she asked me to remove it... and I couldn't."

"Do you not want to take your mask off because you're afraid of rejection? Or is this something else?" Erik didn't respond. "Maybe you don't love her as much as you think you do. When you love someone, you accept them and forget about their flaws. You also let them know everything about you... because you care about them more so then yourself." She commented, her wide eyes just searching him.

More tears fell from Erik's eyes at Christine's words, but he brushed them away.

The rain just continued to fall, and they stood there, staring at the harsh and bitter seas as waves pounded against the rocks, the rain hitting them heavily. Everything felt… surreal.

Silence filled the air for a moment, as the two considered their advice given from the other... both admitted that the other had a point... even if they didn't exactly want to admit that.

Suddenly a huge crack of thunder filled the skies and the rain grew heavier. Christine flinched as she saw lightning illuminate the skies for a brief second. When the lightning had passed, she began to count the seconds.

Erik's face creased as he began to finally notice just how wet he was. And to top it off, there was lighting brewing too. He had to admit though; God really knew how to set the mood.

"Come, we should leave14. The weather is already dreadful and we'll probably be sick in a few days now." He looked at her. "You didn't walk here did you?"

"Sort of..." she said sheepishly, looking down at her wet feet and then at the wet sneakers she held in her hands.

He scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward. "Do you live far?"

Christine blushed.

"Well you can stay at my place… I have an extra room…" he didn't want to sound to forward.

She just smiled, and nodded.

Thoughts of I don't even know this man, why would I follow him? Or what if this is a ruse for him to do something more... even remotely passed through her mind. She just followed him and did not argue as she climbed into his car.

"Wow, t-this is a nice car!" Christine exclaimed, looking around at the black leather interior inside. She was in total awe. This man must be rich15. The car even smelt like brand new leather!

Erik chuckled at her reaction and turned and pulled a neatly folded up blanket off from the floor at Christine's feet and gave it to her when he saw her shivering. He then turned on the heater and turned the dial up full blast.

"Oh, t-thank you." her teeth chattered as she unfolded the blanket and spread it out on top of her, covering every bear part of her.

Erik smiled and backed out of the parking lot. He turned the radio on and they drove along in silence, just letting the recent events and the music wash over them and forgetting about reality. Reality would have a field day if she knew that Christine had just got into the car of a random stranger... with a mask on his face.

What am I doing? Christine thought. I'm going to a stranger's home that I just met! I don't even know his name! She looked at Erik and studied him for a few moments... and for some odd reason; she didn't feel frightened at all. In fact, she felt at peace around this man.

She smiled.

Perhaps those words had more of an impact that she had given them credit for. "Say Goodbye to the world you thought you lived in." she whispered as she looked over at him.


	3. A Nameless Companion

Last Chapter: Christine and Erik meet at a beach one stormy morning and Christine leaves with him.

A/N: Hi everyone! I just want to give a huge thanks for all of your wonderful reviews and comments! They have all touched me immensely. :) I'm sorry it took me awhile to update... but here is a nice long chapter for you!

I'm pretty sure you know, there is a line from a song in here that comes from Mika's song, 'Any Other World'.

So, please read and review, that's all I ask of you:)

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 3: A Nameless Companion

"Christine!" Raoul knocked firmly on Christine's door at noon the next day. "Christine, are you awake?" his voice called through the keyhole urgently.

It was noon on the next day and Raoul had felt bad for putting Christine in an awkward position the night before with the proposal. I love her and I shouldn't have expected that from her… you don't do that to the people you love. He decided he would come and see her and see if he could put their friendship at least, back on track... or well, savage whatever scraps he could. They had been friends for so long now, and he couldn't just let it be ruined like that... no matter how much he loved her or how much pain he was feeling.

He pounded on the door a bit more and muttered, "You just had to be a deep sleeper. Its noon, you should be up by now."

He stuck his hand in his pocket and fished out his keys. He then pulled the key she had given him from his ring of keys and proceeded to unlock the door. Jiggling the door, it opened, and he stepped fully inside as he replaced his keys in his pocket, and went inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Christine?" he called, looking around the messy apartment.

He looked around as he could hear the distinct sound of Angus meowing... somewhere in the vast mess that was her home. He smiled as his gaze finally landed on the furry ball that was lying on top of her TV. The cat immediately jumped down when he saw it was Raoul and raced over and began nuzzling his legs and purring.

"Hey Mr. Jube." Raoul scratched the top of Angus' head before picking the cat up. Then he said to the cat, "Your owner sure can sleep."

He made his way over to Christine's bedroom with Angus curled up and purring softly, in his arms. He opened the door and was expecting to see a big lump in her bed and brown curls all over the place.

"It's a good thing it's your day off from school and work today Christine... I mean wow you can slee -" he stopped short as he saw the empty room and the bed that was totally made.

He heard the cat make a disgruntled sound as he dropped him in shock.

"Oh no." he breathed.

Raoul stalked around her bedroom at first, in worry. Had she not spent the night here? If not, where? Images of her being raped on the night time New York City streets flashed through his mind. It wasn't unlikely... or what if she was injured? He felt like he was having a panic attack. He didn't know what he'd do if something bad had happened to her.

His eyes traveled to the window and he looked out and saw the dark clouds that loomed over the city. The rush of adrenaline had him biting his nails and checking his cell phone for any text messages she may have sent or for any missed calls.

"Her car is parked in the underground parking lot." He noted. "Oh crap..." he felt his breathing was constricted as he recalled seeing her car parked and knowing that she didn't normally go for walks alone.

His breathing hitched and his head snapped around as he heard the distinct sound of the front door being opened.

xoxo

"How do you do that?" Christine asked, amazed as she watched Erik intently. "Every time I try, they fall and break all over the floor." she complained from her perch behind the island counter, sipping her cup of coffee. "And then I have to clean it up…"

"It's a work of art." Erik said jokingly as he flipped the pancakes up from the frying pan and maneuvered him and the pan so he caught the pancakes in a smooth rhythmic movement.

She watched as they went up and twirled a few more times before landing evenly in the pan. Not once did he drop any. She laughed as she envisioned the one time in her life when she had attempted that… let's just say it was months before the ceiling was quite the same.

Christine smiled. She had to say she was enjoying her time at Erik's house thus far. He had been a complete gentlemen and friend; treating her nicely and giving her what she would call, the most amazing room she had ever slept in… then making her an elaborate breakfast. Well, brunch, technically speaking.

When they had returned last night… well late in the morning, he had just shown her where she would be sleeping. Other than that, the two hadn't really spoken except when they both ran into each other outside the bathroom early in the morning. That was when he suggested he'd make breakfast.

"You know we don't even know each other's names yet." Christine raised her eyebrow at him before laughing. She hadn't even thought to ask him, and vice versa.

He set the sizzling pan down for a second, grinning and half consumed by his thoughts. He was having a nice time entertaining a young pretty girl who didn't seem put off or out by him, but actually interested. Not once had Monique even really crossed his mind.

"I'll tell you my name if you tell me a bit about yourself." Erik grinned as he finished flipping the pancakes and set the frying pan down and turned the stove off.

"What do you want to know?" Christine asked slyly, her eyes twinkling as the sharp sapphires met green as he shuffled about, getting ready.

"Ok, well tell me a bit about your growing up days." He stated as he leaned forwards on his elbows on the island counter in front of her. "Where did you grow up? But first," he turned to look back at the stove, "how many do you want?" he motioned to the pancakes as he took out two plates and set them down on the island counter in which Christine sat. She held up two fingers and he dished two onto her plate with a stainless steel spatula.

"Well, let's see... I actually grew up in Calgary in Alberta Canada, not the U.S. I only moved to New York when I was about six. My dad had family here and thought it would be nice for me to spend Christmas with relatives since I had no mother." she explained as Erik poured maple syrup on her pancakes. "You see, my mother died giving birth to me, due to complications."

Erik knew how it felt not to have a family member around for your life... only in his case, it was much worse. His parents had left him because they didn't want a child and he had facial issues. But still, he got the feeling.

"I'm sorry... I know how you feel. My parents didn't want me... but before you continue your story, do you want me to cut up your pancakes?" Erik asked.

She nodded and slightly laughed. Only the masked man could ask her questions about pancakes during her depressing speech.

She continued, "When I first moved here, I was the new kid and that's how I met Raoul; the man who proposed to me last night. I was playing in the park one day, when a bunch of boys told me to get lost and well Raoul saw what was happening and came over and beat some of them up. From then on he took care of me at school and I took care of him. It was also around this time I began to become obsessed with journalism."

Erik raised his visible eyebrow at the mention of journalism and she laughed.

"Yes, I am very much in love with it, I'll have you know. So much I'm trying to gain1 my bachelors degree in it."

"What year?" Erik asked.

"Senior," she declared earnestly, absolutely loving talking about journalism.

"Not to long to go." He noted. "I bet you'll make a fabulous journalist." he smiled.

"You hardly even know me." she laughed. "I'm just a random stranger you met on a beach this morning." she reminded him, picking up her fork and beginning to peck at her yummy plate.

"Yes, well I sense these things about people. And I sense you'll be absolutely wonderful." And he actually felt he meant it.

She rolled her eyes jokingly before continuing, "So I became obsessed with journalism after that. My dad always encouraged me to fulfill my dreams and I plan to. Especially after what happened... when I was about eleven, I lost my father." she saw Erik's shocked and sad expression and paused momentarily to make sure she didn't cry. "Yes, he had cancer for a few years and when I was eleven, he had a stroke in the night. Shortly after, I was sent to live with my Aunt Grace. She was the one who raised me till I moved out."

Erik slowly patted her hand consolingly, knowing how it felt to be alone in this world. He could never have fathomed before that someone had so much of a similar life to him as she did. And better yet, she was totally fine with his deformity and all.

He decided to not say anything, and let her speak when she was ready to.

After a few more pauses, she finally whispered, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok. I totally understand how you feel." he said gently. "My life hasn't exactly been sunshine, lollipops and rainbows either."

"Well I always thank her for one thing; she helped me discover my love for music. She let me go to music school where I played piano and then after that, discovered I liked singing." Christine finished, staring at her plate, lost in her thoughts.

"You like music?" he asked astonished.

He had found that music was a great way of releasing pain... Monique had never really been into that kind of thing. She was more sports oriented. So talking about music with her was more or less like talking to a wall. He figured maybe he could pick Christine's brain and finally have someone to debate things about. Maybe debate whether or not Bach really composed the Toccata and Fugue in D minor or if it was first composed for violin or organ first. These were the kind of things he wondered about, and wished he could discuss with someone.

"I adore it. It's a great way to take your mind off the pain." she responded truthfully. "You just get so caught up in the notes and sounds and the feel of the keys against your fingertips… that reality slips by..."

Erik smiled at her and politely said, "Well if that's the case, before I take you home, I insist you play something for me." he couldn't believe the wonderful friendship he was forming with someone he didn't even know the name of and had just met!

"Alright," she smiled, taking a bite of his pancakes. "God this is delicious. I say quit your day time job and become a chef. Or better yet, my personal chef." she licked the maple syrup off her lips and smiled.

Erik laughed at her comment and responded, "That's ok. I think I'll keep my cooking skills for strangers. So tell me about your job and school2."

"Well I work part time at a club." she saw the funny look in his eyes before replying, "It's not as weird as it sounds! All I do is serve food and drinks and sing every so often on the stage. It pays pretty well and I need the funds for my schooling3."

"I'm going to have to visit this club one day and listen to you sing." he said jokingly.

Actually, he wasn't joking. He would love to hear her voice.

"You do that. As for school, you know I'm in my senior year at CUNY studying for my bachelor's degree in journalism. After school is over, I plan to get a career for the New York Times or some famous News Paper company." she smiled.

"Sounds like you know what you want in life." Erik said admiringly, smiling faintly.

"And you don't?" Christine asked a bit shocked. He seemed like the type who planned out their whole life as a kid, and stuck to it. Besides, he was filthy rich, what more could he possibly want?

"Well I've pretty much accomplished everything I ever wanted to do and prove... except one impossible thing." he responded. She caught a hint of genuine sadness and felt a pang. Her eyes slowly rose and met his.

"Tell me about it." Christine urged.

"I've got a business, lots of money, a nice house, a nice car and a mother. But I don't have the one thing I ever wanted... a wife. And, well just somebody to love..." he said honestly as he looked at her. "I always wanted to support someone and come home to them and just feel loved. Like anyone else..."

Christine smiled at him. "I think everybody wants that." she smiled genuinely at him. "Don't worry though, I think you'll get that one day." she said reassuringly.

"One can hope." he sighed, staring down at his plate.

"Well I'd marry you! You can cook! That is a great quality in a man if you ask me4." she laughed jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

"You probably think every quality in a man is a good quality." he replied jokingly back.

Christine laughed and decided to lighten the mood again and said playfully, "You haven't told me your name yet. And I told you all about myself... so spill." she reminded. "Don't want me going commando on you."

Erik knew she was purposely changing the subject and laughed. He then gave up, "Alright, alright. My name is Erik Devereux. And the Erik is with a 'K'." he laughed again. He hated it when people spelt his name wrong. That reason alone, made him spell it out for everyone.

"Erik with a K," Christine whispered, his name rolling off her tongue. "I like it." she smiled. "But now you have to tell me about yourself."

"Well I have lived my whole life in New York. When my father found out my mother was pregnant with me, he immediately left her hanging high and dry. She kept me for about four years before she felt she had to get rid of me5." he saw the shock and anger pass through Christine's eyes before continuing, "Yes, she left me at the doorstep of some older lady's house. But thankfully, this lady had some compassion and took me in and raised me. She tried to make me love life again by raising me as a Catholic, but I felt life was over for me the day I saw my face reflected in the mirror."

Christine looked at Erik's distraught face and felt horrible for her poor friend. She decided then and there, that she would never force him to take his mask off for her.

"I still did right by the religion for my mother... but I'm not so sure I believe there's a God in this world. How can one person suffer so much while another lives happily? Why would God do that? I did realize at the time that Lilliana -my mom- raised me only because her children had stopped visiting her the day they moved out and she was a widow. But I appreciated everything she did for me none the less."

"That's so nice of her." Christine smiled, squeezing Erik's hand.

"Yes, well I decided one day I would build myself a fortune to get back at all the people who had ever doubted or made fun of me throughout my life. And I did build myself up. I perfected high school for scholarships, gained myself a higher education and achieved my bachelor in business administration. Then I started to buy and sell stocks and buy businesses. After that I began raking in money and I built myself a life. Even Lilliana -my mom- lives in this house right now. I always felt I owed it to her to help her out like she did for me."

"Where is she right now?" Christine asked, looking around the room at the mention of his mother's name.

"She's not in the6 state right now. She left a week ago to visit a close friend in Michigan. She'll be back in about a week." Erik said, gathering the empty plates and taking them to the kitchen sink.

Christine stood up and moved towards the sink. "I'll help you with the dishes." She wanted to help out as much as possible because of his generosity.

"No, you go get changed and prepare yourself for the piano. I still expect you to play." he laughed. "And don't worry; I put your clothing in the dryer, so it should be dry and in the guest room."

Christine blushed as she realized she was wearing one of his tops as pajamas. His shirt was long enough to be a nighty. He had given it to her to borrow last night before they went to their own separate room.

She was about to skip off and change when Erik called out. "Tell me your name."

She smiled. "So close." She laughed. "It's Christine Devenpeck."

"Christine Devenpeck." He whispered.

xoxo

Christine sat down at the grand piano Erik had in his den and ran her fingers across the ebony and ivory keys. "I thought they didn't make piano keys out of ivory and ebony anymore."

"They don't. But this is specially made that way. You can do a lot when money is involved." Erik chuckled as he sat on the chaise across from her and the grand piano in the den.

Christine laughed. Oh to be wealthy and rich.

She flexed her fingers and gently began to commence playing Beethoven's sixth symphony. She liked his sixth symphony and his Moonlight Sonata the most. They were soft and gentle. She knew she probably liked them the most though, because they were her father's favorites' of Beethoven's work. And she idolized her father.

As she became more engrossed in the music, she totally forgot Erik was even there. All there was, was her and the music. She absolutely loved the feeling it gave her. It was like a drug.

Erik watched in awe. He loved how you could see the feelings she was expressing, wash over her face. It was like watching a person who could forget the world around you just when a few notes were being played. He knew that she was just like him in that aspect.

But the tune of the song was lost on him as another replaced it in his mind. Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in. He felt a strange feeling pass through him as he looked over at her and thought more and more about the words.

Suddenly the music stopped playing though, and Christine's eyes opened again and Erik's attentions were brought back to reality.

"Why did -"

"I finished." she answered him softly.

He looked at her oddly, shocked. Where had his mind just gone?

She then quickly and jokingly asked him to cover up her distance that she knew her and him were feeling, "So7 was I up to your expectations Mr. Devereux?"

He covered up his confusion quickly and laughed. "Oh very much so. But in certain parts you were a tad to flat..." he jokingly teased.

"Oh shut up you!" she picked up and threw a nearby pillow at him and looked down at the watch on her wrist.

Erik saw where she was looking and quickly said, "I better get you home now. Don't want anyone having a panic attack when they find your apartment empty." he spoke as he stood up and led Christine to his black Saturn Sky8.

The two drove along quietly talking. A silence descended between the two as most of the time they were both lost in their own thoughts. They realized they had found a good friend in each other and didn't want to lose that already. Christine was hoping he'd ask her for her phone number and vice versa.

"So where do I turn now?" Erik asked, breaking her thoughts as he looked at the address she had scribbled on a piece of paper for him and then looking at the street signs and the vast amount of apartment buildings that defined Manhattan.

"Oh, just make a right and we're right there." she responded as he turned onto her street and she pointed up at the set of tall apartment buildings.

He pulled his car over at a side walk and got out with Christine. She immediately responded, "You don't have to take me up there." but she still liked the thought of him doing that... so she smiled.

"Nonsense. I will escort you to your door. It's only right." he laughed and the two went inside and waited for the elevator that took a few moments to open. They both went inside when he asked, "To which floor Mademoiselle?"

"Fourteenth Monsieur." She played along.

He looked for the fourteenth button and pushed it. At the same time though, he realized there was no thirteenth button. "How come out of the twenty five floors, there isn't a thirteenth one?"

Christine laughed and said, "There's no such thing as a thirteenth floor. The thirteenth floor is supposed to be bad luck, so it is skipped when they build buildings with floors." she tried to explain.

"That positively makes no sense." Erik responded as his brows furrowed, looking at the buttons again to make sure there absolutely was no thirteenth one. "You apartmenties. That really isn't efficient... not having a thirteenth floor, you know."

Christine laughed and swatted him in the shoulder. "Since when did I become an apartmentie? And you think nothing is efficient."

"Since you live in an apartment. And having no thirteenth floor isn't efficient. You modern people with your crazy superstitions..." he shook his head. He could have sworn he was born one hundred years too late.

Christine laughed as a response, holding her stomach.

The elevator doors opened and Erik and Christine stepped out of the elevator into a long, narrow hallway. She led him over to her door and before she opened it, she paused and asked him for a pen to which he dug around in his coat pocket and handed her one. "Here, write your number on my arm." she rolled the sleeve of her sweater up.

"Your arm?" he asked curiously. She had some strange ways of doing things...

"Yes, my arm. I don't exactly have a piece of paper at this moment and I won't remember." she laughed at the weird expression on his face.

Erik wrote his name and his number on her left arm. "Now I'll write my number on your arm." she took the pen from his hand.

"Oh, no you don't! You will write your number on a piece of paper and I will not get ink poisoning. That is the proper thing to do." Erik pulled his arm away from her grasp.

"Awe, come on! You won't get ink poisoning. That like never happens."

"Use a piece of paper." He ordered adamantly.

Christine said nothing and pretended to acknowledge what he was saying... but when he thought she was taking out a piece of paper, she grabbed his arm and held on to him as he tried to move it away. She held on tightly and began to roll up his sleeve.

"I'm writing on your arm." she laughed as she wrote her name down as he tried to shake it away, but couldn't because he was laughing too hard.

Erik sighed. "Fine, but if I get ink poisoning, I'm blaming you and making you stay in the hospital everyday with me." he watched her finish writing her phone number on his arm before adding another phone number. "Why are you writing more?" he demanded.

"This one is my cell phone number. You should have it for the times when I'm gone and you're having another melt down on the beach at three in the morning and need a companion and I'm not home." she insisted. She finished the numbers off and added a heart to the end. "The heart's just because I'm special and felt like drawing it. Now do you have a cell phone number?"

Erik said nothing as he rolled up her sleeve and wrote his cell phone number. Christine looked it over and demanded, "What, I don't get a fancy little heart?" he looked at her annoyed and drew the little heart; to which she replied, "Good."

He watched as she took out her keys and began to unlock the door and said, "I swear Christine, you will be the death of yourself with pens. I should ban you from them."

She laughed and looked oddly at the door. Erik saw her expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I swear I locked my door last... well morning. But it's unlocked right now. When I tried opening it with the key, it was already unlocked." she looked at Erik who stared at the door.

"Here," he moved in front of her, "Let me go in first." he opened the door and stepped in with Christine right at his tail.

She scanned the room and said, "Well nothing looks out of the ordinary. Maybe I did forget to loc... Mr. Jube!" she exclaimed as the cat came jogging over to her and began rubbing himself up against her.

"Mr. Jube?" Erik asked oddly as he turned and faced Christine and what she was talking about.

"Mr. Jube is my sweet little baby." Christine said sweetly, picking up the orange cat.

"That's Mr. Jube?" he asked, watching her scratch the top of the cat's orange and white head.

"Yes, this is Mr. Jube. His name is actually Angus, but I call him Mr. Jube. Now kiss him." she ordered.

"What?" he asked in shock as if she was asking him to jump off a cliff. "I will certainly not do that! Hey may very well contain flees of some sort!"

"Kiss him. He likes attention." she ordered him again, tugging on his jacket and demanding him some more.

"Fine," Erik muttered as he leaned inwards and kissed the cat's soft head. "Happy now?"

"Yes, and so is Mr. Jube. You can tell, he's purring." Christine explained.

Erik was about to ask why cats did that, when a man appeared from Christine's bedroom. Erik was taken aback by how handsome the man was and this made him recall how ugly he was. He wondered why this man was in Christine's bedroom. He suddenly felt self conscious because of his mask.

"Raoul," Christine gasped, dropping Angus, "What… what are you doing here?" she felt her body freeze up when she realized that Erik was here as well…

"I came to see you Christine, about last night. We have to talk." he insisted, moving closer to her. His gaze caught a strange masked man and he felt immediately put off.

"Can we talk about this another time?" she asked, averting Erik's and Raoul's eyes and staring at a pile of jeans on her floor.

Erik took his cue. "I think I better leave now... I'll talk to you later." Erik said quietly as he slipped silently out of the apartment and shut the door behind him. He quickly realized that this was her fiancé from last night and felt he better give the two their room.

"Who was that?" Raoul demanded Christine after Erik had shut the door behind him.

"He's my friend." Christine said defensively.

"Your friend? Since when do you have a friend that wears a mask? Why does he wear that mask? Is it some kind of statement? And how come you weren't here this morning? I've been worried sick about you!" Raoul went on, pacing across her room.

"His name is Erik. Why he wears that mask is neither yours, nor my business! I met him this morning at the beach and he kindly took me to his house and made sure I was alright. That is all you need to know!" she yelled angrily.

She silently gasped at what she had just said. She hadn't meant for Raoul to hear all that. From how it sounded… it didn't sound too good.

Raoul moved to the window and Christine followed him in curiosity. When she looked out, she saw immediately what he was looking at; Erik was climbing into his expensive car9.

"Well he obviously isn't lacking in money." Raoul muttered as his gaze watched Erik drive off in a black Saturn Sky10.

Christine stared at Raoul in shock. She knew Raoul had been having money problems... but she could have sworn she detected envy in that statement. She, herself wasn't doing the greatest in money because of her schooling, but she was managing to hold herself up.

"Raoul, he's a really nice man who was suffering like me." Raoul looked at her. "He proposed to his girlfriend last night and she broke his heart." right when the words had left Christine's mouth, she wanted to snatch them back. She had just basically described what she had done to Raoul!

"So you basically said no to me and ran to this masked weirdo and went home with him and gave him a little attention because his girlfriend said no? Is that it?" Raoul demanded as he made his way towards her door. "Because that's how it sounds from where I'm standing."

He felt he had heard enough.

"How dare you!" she screamed. "You know that is not true!" he stopped momentarily at her words. "I told you that I would never give myself to anyone unless I was married to them first! I don't even know this man all that well! He was just being a friend to me!" she was digging herself into a hole and she knew it. "And if it sounds bad from where you're standing, why don't you move?!"

"Then if you love me as much as you say you do, then how come you told me no?" he asked quietly, calming himself down so the neighbors could not hear.

"I told you already Raoul! We need money to build a marriage!" she screamed as the tears began to cascade down her face, not caring who heard them.

"I don't think that's the case Christine." Raoul stated, looking at her one more time before leaving and slamming the door behind him.

Christine felt her knees buckle as she landed on the ground, giving way to her tears.

xoxo

Erik sat in his dark bedroom on his bed staring at the wall in agony and misery. He had a half empty wine bottle in his hand and a glass filled with the liquid in the other.

He was drinking himself into oblivion. He just wanted to numb the pain and forget the pretty face of Monique. He wanted to forget the world around him and just feel peace for at least a few moments. He tried to forget about Lilliana too and the religion she brought with her.

He was dreading the return of his mother. Before she had left for Michigan, he had told her about his plan to propose to Monique. He had even shown her the diamond ring he had picked out for her. Now what was he going to say when Lilliana came home and asked him how it went? He couldn't bear to see the pity that would fall upon her wrinkled face.

Pity. That was the one thing in life Erik couldn't stand for. Forgetting about Christine, he normally didn't tell anyone his problems for that reason. He didn't want people to pity him. His whole life had been filled with pity and resentment and as soon as anyone saw a glimpse of his face.

He finished off the contents of his glass and threw it at the wall across from him in anger.

"Erik?" a girl's voice called softly.

Erik looked around the dark room and cursed the fact that the lights weren't on.

"Erik?" Monique stepped towards him and his eyes widened. "We need to talk."


	4. Wallowing

Last Chapter: Christine and Erik get to know one another and Raoul shows up to apologize to Christine.

A/N: Thanks once again for all your wonderful comments :)) My move was pretty much successful... only now it takes me an hour and 10 minutes to get to school each day :P lol.

Ah, yes, there are lyrics in here by Mika once again... I'm on a roll with his music, eh? The songs being 'Erase' and 'Over My Shoulder' which I think is a back track song to some other song...

Well, please read and review, that's all I ask of you!

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 4: Wallowing.

Erik looked up at the sound of her voice and into Monique's pretty face and felt his chest constrict. He knew the two of them needed to talk, but he planned on putting it off for a bit and just drinking in misery1. It was the easier choice of the two in his opinion.

"How did you get in here?" Erik demanded immediately as he stood up on unsteady feet and dropped the bottle of wine.

"You gave me your spare key to the house... remember?" she held up the key as soon as the words had left her mouth, as if justifying her action.

Erik responded with an "oh". He wasn't quite sure how to deal with this situation at the moment. He was half drunk and she wanted to talk to him... and he wasn't in the mood for talking. Considering their current predicament, he wasn't sure if she should see him in his bad state.

"We need to talk about last night." she reminded him gently as she moved closer to him.

Erik was still for a moment as he immediately wiped away the intruder that dare fall down his face. He then said harshly, "What's there to talk about? I asked you to marry me and you said no!"

"I had my reasons Erik!" she yelled. "I will not let you put the blame on me!"

"Alright... then enlighten me on why this is my fault." he said sarcastically.

"Don't act all smug Erik. You know exactly what you did! If you can't have the faith and trust in me to show me, then this marriage would have never worked!" she said angrily.

Erik stared at her, anger boiling through him as he watched Monique. There were a lot of things he wanted to say right now that he was seeing red… but through this anger, he didn't really even recall what this was all about. Suddenly her lips were looking mighty appealing; being full and luscious. But at the same time, he had a million things he wanted to scream at her. But he wasn't in the mood for yelling.

"Erik?" she asked when she noticed he wasn't saying anything, just staring at her with his sensual and provocative green eyes.

"You look beautiful when you're angry..." Erik muttered.

Monique didn't know what was happening as Erik suddenly had his arms around her waist and pulling her in, before planting an intense kiss on her mouth. She didn't realize it, but she was already responding as her mouth opened to his and their tongues joined together.

Erik wasn't sure what was causing him to do this... be it the liquor or how she suddenly turned him on... but he suddenly needed to be with her. He had never been with a woman before... so he wasn't exactly experienced...

Erik and Monique just stood ravishing each other's mouth in the dark room as the moonlight danced on them. Both forgot all the conflict and just continued to kiss each other passionately. He soon pulled his mouth from hers and began to go south; kissing and sucking on her neck.

"Erik..." she sighed into his neck as her fingers came up and caressed the nape of his neck. She wanted to tell him to stop... that they shouldn't right now... but she wanted him to continue just as much. She felt bad for feeling this way; the two weren't even married!

While Erik's mouth devoured her neck, his hands ran along her form. He pushed one hand up her shirt and skimmed the warm flesh. The other hand went to the back of Monique and to her petite butt, holding her ever so slightly.

Monique gasped slightly and flicked her tongue out on Erik's neck, causing him to pull back slightly and groan.

"Oh God Monique..." he groaned.

Truthfully, he didn't know what was happening. He was going on instinct and instinct alone. He could feel this exotic animal urges overcoming him.

Erik's hands went up to her sweater and began to undo the buttons in a rough manner. Once they were undone or well broken, he pushed it off and began to lift her shirt off her head till she was left in only her bra. Immediately his hands went out and cupped her petite breasts through their garment.

Monique groaned and began to undo the shirt Erik was wearing. He happily obliged and even shook it off his shoulders till it pooled to the ground. He could feel her small hands begin to stroke his chest and felt goose bumps appear all over.

Erik nibbled at Monique's ear before pushing her back onto the black drawn covers of his vast bed. He stood up and just looked at her for a few moments, his eyes devouring her body, one bit at a time... He then leaned towards her and hovered over her, making sure not to put his weight on top of her. At first his green eyes just stared into her dark brown ones, before she placed her hand on the side of his face and caught his mouth in a soft and sweet kiss.

At the same time, she felt Erik's hands undoing her jeans and beginning to slide them off of her, till he left her in nothing but her bra, undies and a blush on her body. He then slowly moved his lips south. Still not on the bed, he put his hands on both sides of her as his lips descended down her flushed body.

As Erik moved a bit away from Monique, she ran her hands along his length through his pants, and could feel an erection forming. She couldn't begin to describe the feelings she felt at the moment.

Erik's lips hit her panties and suddenly Monique seemed to come out of her reverie, jerking up and away into a sitting position, causing Erik to stumble back. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately, his eyes raking over her body in fear.

"We can't do this Erik..." she said quickly as she looked him squarely in the eyes, trying to conceal herself suddenly as she turned a dark shade of crimson.

Erik thought that even for his first time, everything had been going pretty well... what was so wrong? "Why not?" he demanded. _It's my face._

"We're not ready for this step Erik. You can't even show me what you look like for Christ's sake! When we do this, I want to feel like we have complete trust in each other..." she spoke softly, a tear glistening in the moonlight as it fell down her cheek.

"We do have complete trust in each other!" Erik said adamantly, wanting to go to her and wipe the tear away.

Suddenly Monique saw something odd and asked him, "What is that on your arm?"

Erik looked down and saw the numbers Christine had written on his arm hours ago. He had totally forgotten... up to this point. "Its nothing." he said sharply, turning from her.

Monique raised herself from the bed and grabbed a hold of his arm. "Christine... these are her numbers here. Erik, why do you have a woman's phone and cell phone number on your arm?" she demanded, turning his face to look directly at hers.

"It's just a friend's number." he stated in an annoyed manner.

"Erik, she signed a freaking heart at the end! What do you think this looks like to me? I'm gone away from you for one day and you've already found someone else? I thought you loved me!" she started to sob.

"Well if you have trust in me like you say you do, then you'd believe me when I tell you it was a friend I just met! This girl means nothing to me! Can't you at least trust me on that?" he argued, angered that she still didn't trust him.

Monique paused, her tears and lightly held his arm as she quietly said, "Ok Erik. I'll trust whatever you say, just as long as you take off your mask and show me what you truly look like. Then you can tell me the truth."

Erik pulled back from her touch like he had been burned. He stalked to the other side of the room and picked up the empty bottle from before and in anguish, threw it at the wall with all his might. "I should have known it would come to this." he muttered angrily.

Monique said nothing as she began to pick up her articles of clothing and put them back on. She knew Erik was watching her, and made sure not to look into his sensual eyes... or that may be her undoing.

"I guess this is goodbye Erik." Monique said softy hovering by the door, before she left the room.

Erik looked at her and wanted to go up to her and beg her to not leave him. But he was held back with a mixture of emotions; anger, misery, rejection and most importantly, _fear_. He was afraid to show her what he looked like... he couldn't handle the sight that he would be greeted with on her pretty face when he tore down his only barrier.

_Goodbye._

xoxo

Erik snuck into his living room at two in the morning carrying a shoe horn in one hand. He had woken up not to long ago when he heard someone inside his house. The floors were not creaky for a reason...

His first thought was Lilliana, but then he remembered that she was still in Michigan and wouldn't be returning for another week. And even if she had, she would have called him first. He then thought that maybe Monique had come back for a few moments after that... but she wouldn't be over at this time.

"I am a grown man sneaking around my own house with a shoe horn at two in the morning!" he muttered to himself as he blended into the shadows of his dark house.

He could hear the footsteps in his house getting closer to him as they wandered down the halls. He threw himself against a wall and peered at the floor from the corner he was behind.

The moonlight was illuminating the figure of someone. This someone was holding something.

Erik held the shoe horn up and swerved around the corner and stumbled as a girl's scream filled the hall and he could hear items crashing to the ground. He looked up to see a person lying on the floor.

"What are you doing?" she screamed as she caught sight of the shoe horn in his hand in mid air.

"What are you doing?" he yelled back, not even sure who he was yelling at.

Light filtered the hall suddenly and Erik blinked his eyes, trying to adjust them to the sudden brightness. When he finally stopped blinking, his eyes landed on Christine -who had flipped the light switch on- and to a bunch of tapes and CDs lying on the ground. He then noticed she had a huge yellow bucket in her left hand.

Realizing he was holding the shoe horn up in the air, he pulled his arm back down to his side.

"What are you doing in here?" Erik demanded immediately, crossing his arms in a huff.

"I-I was..." Christine stumbled before she burst out laughing and dropped the bucket as she clutched her stomach and pointed at him. Her face began to go bright red and her cheeks began to hurt.

Erik glared at her, not finding this amusing in the slightest. What could she possibly be doing in his house at this time of morning? And what were with all the videos and CDs? Was it some kind of slumber party?

"I don't see how you can find this so amusingly funny." Erik scoffed.

Christine looked up at him, her face red and tears starting to form. "Oh my God... w-what w-were you planning o-on d-doing w-with the shoe horn Erik?" she held her stomach as she laughed even harder. "T-that was priceless!"

"I'll have you know that a shoe horn is a very good self defense device. One good whack..."

Christine began to laugh even harder.

Erik shook his head in disgust and figured he would ignore her. He bent down and picked up one of the videos on the floor. "The_ Titanic_." he read the title of the video and studied the box of a girl and a man holding each other.

Christine finally composed herself enough to have a conversation. "It's a sad movie."

"I understand that. But why are you at my house at two in the morning with a bunch of videos, CDs and a bucket?" he asked, waving the video in front of her face in an annoying manner.

"I came here to wallow with you." she explained, picking up the movies and CDs that had fallen to the ground.

"Wallow? What in God's name is that?" he hoped that wasn't something dirty.

"It's where you wear your pajamas, eat copious amounts of ice cream, watch sad movies and cry over the fact that you lost a girlfriend or boyfriend. It's supposed to make you feel better." she explained.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Erik had never heard of such a strange thing to do. He just liked to brute and take all his anger and misery out on his piano. But he wasn't shocked. Christine was an odd person. I mean, who ever heard of skipping the thirteenth floor?

"Nope. Now what movie would you like to see? I've got Titanic... for obvious reasons. I also brought Old Yeller. I know you're a guy and wasn't sure if you wanted a manlier movie to cry over..." Christine explained as she began to take the movies into his den where his plasma TV was.

"Old Yeller?"

"A beloved dog dies." she plopped the movies and CDs down on the coffee table.

"Oh, well that's a mind blower." he said sarcastically, following behind her.

Christine turned and laughed as she saw him still holding the shoe horn in his hand. "Will you please put that thing away? I swear I'll die from laughing so hard!" she laughed and pointed at the shoe horn.

Erik grumbled as he set the shoe horn on a nearby table and asked, "How did you get inside my house anyways?"

"You left your door unlocked Erik. You should seriously consider locking it more often. You never know who's going to come into your house." she informed him as she wandered closer to him.

"You mean like you?" he asked.

"Yes. I could have been a serial killer Erik." she made her eyes go wide and waved her hands in front of his face.

"Please... you?" he scoffed.

"Never know... It's always the least you expect." she said, pretending to be hurt.

Erik shook his head in bemusement and looked around, and spotted the bucket still lying in the hallway. "Is your bucket supposed to be alive?" he pointed to a substance which appeared to be leaking from it.

"What?" she asked, looking at the bucket and seeing the melting ice cream begin to leak out. "Oh crap, the ice cream!" she stumbled, before racing over and grabbing it, then rushing it to the kitchen and throwing it in the sink.

Erik wandered in after her and said amusingly, "I take it the ice cream isn't working the way you want it to?"

"Shut up Erik. It's still edible. I brought only chocolate, so you better like It." she said as she searched the kitchen for bowls and an ice cream scooper. "Where are your bowls and ice cream scooper?"

"Bowls are in the cupboard above the stove and the ice cream scooper is in the drawer over there." he pointed it out to her.

"Merci beaucoup." she said as she went over and fetched the items.

"Isn't it a bit late to be eating ice cream?" he asked as he watched her move around his kitchen and as he looked at the clock. "And why now?"

Christine stopped and looked at him. She bit her lip and stared at the floor. She would have been kidding herself to say he wasn't going to ask why she was doing all this nonsense. But she had hoped he wouldn't. She wasn't sure why... but for some reason she really liked Erik. He seemed like the type you could run to with your problems... even at two in the morning. And since the confrontation with Raoul hours previous, she felt like she needed someone.

Tears began to cascade down her cheek and she tried to keep her mouth shut, but a sob escaped her quivering lips and she threw her arms around Erik and continued to cry and sniffle into his shoulder.

Erik was shocked by the contact and just patted her back gently in hopes it would calm her down and make her feel better. And hopefully make her stop crying. He wasn't use to woman crying... and had no clue how to comfort one. He had never experienced this with Monique.

A few more moments passed and Erik quietly asked, "How about we go watch the Titanic then?" trying to take away the awkward moment.

Christine pulled away and wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her arm and tried to smile. "Ok," she watched as Erik began to move to the den and called to him, "Erik!"

He turned and looked at her.

"Thanks for everything." she said sincerely to which he nodded and tried to smile at her, which he wasn't finding to difficult.

The two wandered back into the den and Erik picked up the Titanic movie. "Don't you have this on DVD?"

"No... I bought this when it came out on video cassette and never upgraded It." she blushed in embarrassment.

"Well it may take me awhile to find my VCR if I still have one." he warned.

"That's ok. I'm going to go into the bathroom, wash my face and put on my pajamas so I can wallow fully. Then I'll get the ice cream. I brought sprinkles, so we can add some." she winked as she grabbed her bag and went in search of his bathroom.

Erik sighed. He wondered why she liked him as a friend. She was so quirky, funny and joyful. And he was... well he was the complete opposite. He didn't normally enjoy company and he was quiet and miserable.

He moved around to look for his old VCR, but his attentions were caught on a bright CD she had lying next to her videos. He picked it up and studied it closely. The CD was colorful and didn't look at all like something someone would use when 'wallowing', as she so put it.

Erik went over to the stereo and inserted the disk in. He pushed the play button and a song immediately began to play.

_I shouldn't have called so late last night, all insecure, out_

_of my mind._

_I shoulda never left that message on your phone._

_I shouldn't have said the things I said, looking for love we left for_

_dead in a grace, without a stone._

_As soon as you hear my voice, don't hesitate, put your finger on the_

_button..._

_Erase!_

_My love._

_I bet you can't erase!_

_My touch._

_You're trying to replace, a feeling without a name, with somebody's_

_face!_

Erik listened to the song and actually found himself listening closely to the words. Surprisingly, this song wasn't so bad... it kind of made him more miserable though... thinking about Monique.

"Oh, you found my wallowing CD." Christine said, coming into the room, dressed in her pink flannel penguin pajamas and two bowls in her hands.

_When the pain won't go away, just go ahead and push the trigger._

"Oh my God!" Erik jumped as he heard her voice. He turned and saw her holding the bowls of ice cream in her hands. "Yes I found it on the table with your other stuff."

_Erase!_

_My love._

"Do you like it?" she asked, coming over, setting the bowls on the table and flopping herself down on his black leather couch.

_You're trying to replace, a feeling without a name, with somebody's_

_face!_

"It's um, interesting." he replied, flipping the song... to which an even more sad song came on.

_Over my shoulder, running away,_

_Feels like I'm falling, losing my way._

_Cold and dry,_

_Cold and dry._

_Fog out my daylight, torture my night,_

_Feels like I'm falling, far out of sight._

"You have a lot of sad songs on here..." Erik commented. "It sure isn't making me feel any better."

"It's supposed to make you sad. That's why they're wallowing songs. And it's either that, or I have some Celine Dion." Christine suggested. As soon as she saw Erik's expression, she burst out laughing. "It's not that bad!"

"I beg to differ." Erik shook his head and sat down on the couch next to her and took his bowl of ice cream. "Don't make me sing 'My heart will go on' for you..."

Christine laughed at his words and playfully punched him in the shoulder and picked up the pillow next to her and hid behind it as he tried to punch her back again. She kept ducking and he kept missing, causing her to laugh harder. "Well I guess I have Streamline on there too... but I don't think we need a party song." she stuck her tongue out at him and attempted to whack him again.

"Nice pajamas." Erik commented, looking down at her pink flannel pajamas with penguins on them.

Christine accidentally fell off the couch, laughing so hard. "Thank you." she then crawled back up on the couch and the two remained silent. "Truce?"

"Fine; but it's only because I'm that nice." Erik joked.

_He joked._ Erik had never joked before. He was always so serious... and yet here he was, in his black pajamas, joking with his brand new friend at two in the morning. A week ago, when he was planning on proposing to Monique, he would have never thought he'd be here at this moment in time. If someone had told him he'd be joking, he would have called them mad.

"Are we friends?" she asked suddenly out of the blue.

"What?" Erik asked.

"Are we friends? Come on, be truthful. I want to know." she shook his arm.

"Well you did sneak into my house at two in the morning with ice cream and sad movies and CDs and I didn't argue... so I guess yes?"

She clapped her hands. "Yay! So since we're friends... if I felt crummy... would you let me give you a makeover? Put skirts and lipstick on you? I could make you look so purdy! I could even stick little jewels on your mask!" she laughed as she shoved him with her hands, jokingly.

"No,"

"What if I gave you the puppy look?" she asked sweetly.

"The answer would still be no. Even in a million years my answer would still be no." Erik held his hand up before she could say anything. "I'd say no so many times it would leave a permanent imprint in your mind. They would even engrave 'no' on my tombstone when you come to visit."

Christine stuck her tongue out at him. "You're no fun!"

Erik leaned forwards and handed her, her ice cream bowl. "Eat your ice cream."

"What about the movie?" she asked.

"Why don't we just pick a DVD from my house and watch it?" he suggested.

He didn't leave time for her to answer; he was already going to fetch a DVD from his glass case and putting it on. He then turned around and turned off the stereo and joined her with his bowl of ice cream.

"So what are we watching?" she asked, deciding not to argue because he had let her come over at two in the morning without a word and wallow with him.

"_Artificial Intelligence_,"

"Sure... pick a smart movie... we're suppose to be wallowing!" she complained.

"Shh." he said as the movie began to play.

"But it's just commercials2!" she griped, shaking his arm.

"Shh." he said again.

Christine finally became quiet and the two watched the movie. Actually she found it to be really interesting. It wasn't the ideal wallowing movie... but it had moments when she felt like crying for the little robot boy.

Erik knew she liked this movie, no matter how many times through the movie she repeated it wasn't a real 'wallowing movie'. He also caught sight of those tears... even when she denied it and said he was imagining things.

Christine finally gave up letting Erik know she was crying when the little robot boy saw his mother for one day and only one day. She sort of wished now she had a lock of her father's hair and a fairy Godmother that would let her see her dad for a day. Then she could talk to her dad and just do the old things they use to do.

xoxo

"Christine..." Erik whispered gently as he noticed that by the end of the movie, Christine had fallen asleep... on his arm no less. She didn't stir and he didn't want to wake her up, so...

He sighed and let himself fall asleep with her.


	5. Lazy Hazy Crazy Work Days

Last Chapter: Monique and Erik are together briefly, ending in only misery. Christine is just as miserable and comes to visit Erik to wallow.

A/N: Salutations :) I just want to give a huge thank you to Little Belle for all her wonderful editing :) as well as to the the wonderful people who took the time to give their thoughts and oppinions, and review. Thank you!

Third week of Advent:D Pink week! Christmas draws near! It is my last week of school and last week of squaredancing... :P and on a happier note yet again, I actually have steady hours now at work, and I am officially over my flu! lol, well enough about me... pish :P

Please read and review, that's all I ask of you. And remember, I can honestly promise you that the more reviews this story recieves, the quicker these chapters will come :)

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 5: Lazy Hazy Crazy Work Days.

Christine sighed as she walked down the cold bustling streets of New York, her book bag slung around her shoulders and her purse in hand. Another day of school had passed for her, and now she was on her way to the club to begin her part time work hours for the first time that week. She sighed, not being able to help but wonder though, if Raoul might visit. All the reasons for him to were there.

_Don't even go there, Christine. We'll take whatever life throws at us, as it comes._ She thought to herself as she continued at her fast pace.

It had been a week since Raoul had come to her apartment and she had wallowed with Erik at two in the morning. She was grieving more than ever, and wished for her father's presence very badly at this moment. She just wanted someone to talk to... Erik was great and all too, but he had his own set of problems with his girlfriend. Christine needed someone who had experienced these kinds of problems before... which was why her father was the man.

Christine tried to envision the woman that had won and claimed Erik's heart. For some peculiar reason, it had been on her mind as of late. She had absolutely no idea why. She knew for a fact that she did not like Erik like that. He was like a close friend... or better yet, a brother! The more she thought of it, the more she passed it off as curiosity.

Christine decided to forget about it. She was nearing her work and needed to at least pass it off that she was happy. She was a waitress after all... Christine plastered on a smile as she pushed open the glass doors, the familiar smell of fries and Frisco burgers frying, greeting her nostrils with their inviting aroma. She moved to the back, greeting customers and her co-workers on the way.

"Oh Christine, I'm so glad you're here!" Kacey exclaimed, coming over to Christine with a tray in her hand.

"Bored?" Christine offered, looking at her friend.

Kacey stood only a few inches taller than Christine; with very light brown -almost blonde- hair hanging in long waves down her long back. She stood tall, a certain grace and charm about the way she held herself. She had long wispy arms, which were normally seen on that of a ballerina. She was a bit thicker than Christine, but was still quite thin herself. Her face was oval shaped, with two deep hazel orbs, soft lips that always held a joyful smile and that made anyone else smile, and a small nose in the middle to top it all off.

Despite her appearance, Kacey was quite opposite in her attitude. She was a gabber who knew all the latest gossip and fashion trends, always being in on everything. She could talk a mile a minute and was a social butterfly.

"Yes! These past few days, I've been stuck with Jessica! And you know how boring she can be!" she gasped dramatically. "I need new gossip; such as you and Raoul! I'd elbow you, but I don't want to spill these drinks." she giggled.

Christine could have sworn that she felt herself blanch at the mention of Raoul. But from the looks of it, Kacey hadn't noticed. She knew she had to get out of there, so she spoke quickly, "I gotta go punch in and change into my uniform."

"Oh right!" Kacey spoke, somewhat taken aback by her friend's abrupt behaviour. Christine began to walk away as Kacey yelled to her once more, "Oh, Tom told me to tell you it's your day to sing!"

Tom was Kacey and Christine's boss. He was a tall, fairly thin man in his late forties, who preferred to be referred to by his name, other than 'boss'. Christine had to say she enjoyed having him as a boss. The two were friends and because he knew she was struggling to pay for university fees, he would sometimes give her a bonus along the lines; namely Christmas time… or just when he felt like it, which was actually quite often.

Christine sighed as she knew it was her turn to sing. She enjoyed singing, but she just felt she wasn't up to it. Not with everything going on in her life. She recalled the last time she sang was before Raoul proposed. He had been listening to her... and after, he handed her a bouquet of daisies.

She punched in and then went into the girl's washroom to change into her work uniform. After, as she was making her way to the front, Tom stopped her.

"Has Kacey told you you'll be singing tonight?" he asked.

Christine nodded.

"Good, she's finally done something right." he laughed. "Do you know what you're singing?"

"Sort of...?" she blushed, embarrassed. She hadn't at all planned out anything like she should of.

When being hired at the club, all singers/waitresses took it as their responsibility to have their songs planned out and the information handed in well in advance.

"Like usual. I don't know, sing something by _Fleetwood Mac_. I'm feeling a vibe tonight. They'd be good." he grinned.

Christine nodded, wishing she didn't have to sing anything at all. She was afraid her mouth would open up and she would do something horribly wrong… such as start crying. With the way her life was going, it wasn't too hard for that to happen.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Tom asked gently, looking at her distant face.

Christine looked up and forced a smile. "Let's just say, I'd rather be singing _Mad World_ by _Gary Jules_." she laughed slightly.

Tom patted her shoulder. "Hey, don't sweat it Christine. Life always has been a drag..." Christine noted that he was most likely referring to his wife leaving him a few years ago with a Jamaican bus driver. "You'll do great. You're a great singer. And you only have to sing once tonight. And I'll give you twenty minutes till then to mentally prepare yourself."

"Thanks Tom." she smiled up at him.

"No, problem Christine. Hey, how's your studies going anyways?" he asked. "Been meaning to ask. I'm sort of thinking of getting back into that scene again."

"Long, hard, stressful. To many adjectives to describe It." she laughed. "But I love it none the less. What would you be going to study?" she asked, amused.

"I want to be a doctor of course." He grinned. "Naw, not quite sure yet… but I do want some courses behind my name and on my paper for good effects." He peered at his watch. "Anyways, now get to work you. You have a long shift ahead of you" he gave her a gentle push on the back.

Christine began her shift. Taking orders and serving drinks to tables. She knew this was going to be a long night. A long night she wished would be over already. As she went to a table and took orders, she smiled as she listened to Kacey sing _All of My Love _by _Led Zeppelin_.

Since beginning working here, which was a few years ago, she had known Kacey had an obsession with the classic rock band, _Led Zeppelin_. She smiled, recalling the first time she had gone in her friend's apartment. She discovered just how deep this obsession ran… she cringed, recalling how creeped out she had felt with all the eyes and faces of all the band members stared down at her from the numerous posters that hung on her friend's wall.

She knew it wasn't good, but she had a tendency to compare her life to the lyrics of any song she heard. It just came by natural habit. So when a sad song came on...

Christine groaned as the song came to an end and Kacey smiled at the people clapping. It was her turn.

Kacey squeezed her arm as they passed; knowing Christine was having a hard time. For why, she did not know.

Christine ascended the stairs and stood on the stage and looked out at the expectant people at their tables, watching her. She cleared her throat and smiled nervously at the people. She then tapped the microphone and began to sing.

She saw Kacey give her the thumbs up and Tom smile at her encouragingly, his arms crossed, from the other side of the room.

_Three years ago._

_One busy Friday night at the club._

_Twenty three year old Christine's sweet voice rang out through the club that Friday night as she sang the last note of her solo love song. All her friends and co-workers in the club knew who that song was directed at and looked at each other knowingly._

_Christine had been seeing her recent boyfriend Raoul, for one year now. Their relationship was still so new and sweet; it was enough to make someone sick, just watching the two. _

_Every Friday, Raoul would come see Christine perform and hand her his bouquet of daisies and compliment her on her looks and her voice. Christine seemingly looked forward to Fridays now._

_She descended the steps of the stage and like clockwork; there stood Raoul by the entrance, a bouquet of daisies in hand, he being all armed for hugs and kisses._

_"You were wonderful!" Raoul hugged her. "You were beautiful and you sounded like an angel... as usual!" he smiled, enhancing his good looking boyish features and he was seemingly glowing._

_She took the bouquet of daises, sniffed them, and kissed him hard on the lips, till he felt his head spin. It was one of those kisses in which you forgot the world._

_"Christine, work." Tom reminded, grinning at the couple and shaking his head, wishing him and his wife still had that kind of chemistry. The two of them had been arguing a lot lately… even over the most basic things like spilt milk. He didn't know what happened to their love… he found himself using work and coming in even when he didn't need to, as an excuse to get away from her and his looming home._

_Kacey stopped by Christine and whispered into her ear, "Don't worry, I'll distract Tom." she laughed as she greeted Raoul with a smile and wave._

_"My shift'll be over in ten minutes." she said gently, her finger curling over his collar while she led him over to a table near the front. "You can wait here and I'll get you a drink; on the house of course" she leant over him and kissed him soundly on the mouth._

_"A scotch on the rocks." he breathed heavily, as their mouths parted. She purposely licked her lips in a seductive manner, and he felt his body betray him at the sweet sight and the erotic ideas popping up in his mind._

_Christine walked away, feeling very much in love with Raoul at that moment. She would have never fathomed that one day; she may be reconsidering how she felt for him._

xoxo

Erik stared at the God awful and tasteless orange walls of the office he sat in. He had an awful taste in his mouth as the people around the table of the meeting, tried to convince him to agree to their terms and proposal on the chain of buildings he was hoping to buy. Correction; was going to get.

But his mind was elsewhere.

His thoughts were on Monique. They hadn't spoken or seen each other in a week. He was grieving for his loss. He truly did miss her. He was kind of avoiding her since the last time they had seen each other, he was practically all over her, begging her for sex. He was hoping that maybe they could go back to before. Forget the proposal and the way he threw himself at her.

His thoughts then shifted to Christine, his new friend. He smiled, not even realizing it, as he pictured the pretty brunette. Although he would never admit this to her or anyone else, he was kind of glad that she was his friend now. He actually felt he could open up to her and somewhat be himself around her. And despite all the crazy things she did, such as wallowing, he found himself to be enjoying them with her. At the same time though, he felt so confused… he couldn't explain why he actually felt that he may just prefer her company over Monique's. Instead, he just pushed it away, refusing to think about it.

_If Lilliana ever heard that_ _thought, she'd probably pass out in shock._ Erik thought to himself.

Lilliana had known Erik her whole life, and not once did Erik enjoy doing anything that involved another person or was outside of playing the piano. Even when he was a child, Erik had refused to play hide and seek with the other children.

_"Those simple childish games are too beneath me Mom."_ He had often repeated to her. And she always sighed, hearing that for the umpteenth time…

"Mr. Devereux?"

Erik's thoughts were disrupted as one of the ladies at the table spoke his name. He immediately glared at her. He would outright say he hated these people. They were annoying little pests who would do whatever they could, to get his money. Oh yes, they acted like they cared, but he was no idiot and newbie to this world.

_Selfish, greedy bastards._ Erik thought as he looked around the table at the people. He could have sworn some were sprouting horns and tails.

"What?" he snapped.

"We have some new terms we would like you to review." one of the executives spoke, pushing one of the reports towards him.

Erik was attempting to buy a chain of exclusive restaurants. He had done his research, and was sure it was a good buy. He knew it would net him quite a bit of money… even if he didn't need the money quite so much.

Erik grew angrier as he looked at their proposal, which spurred on an arguing match.

"Are you people insane, or just incredibly stupid?" Erik yelled.

"It was just a starting offer!"

Erik really wasn't in the mood to fight with the devil's advocates, as he now deemed them to be. He was stressed as it is, with everything going on, he didn't need any more problems.

Erik stood up angrily, roughly knocking down his chair in the process. He was half tempted to yell 'good day's sirs' in a British accent and slam the door, praying that a picture of something fell in the process.

"We're not -"

"Yes, we are!" Erik roared. "Alert me when you get an average IQ!"

He stormed out of the room and slammed the office door for good effects. Only a picture never actually fell.

xoxo

He glared at anyone who dared to look at him. Even fleeting glances were triggering.

Lately, he had taken to walking... which was unusual. Normally he liked to pen himself up in his home, but not as of late. He walked and roamed the streets more often then he would before the whole proposal had taken place. He normally didn't because of his burden that was his face. He was filled with pure hatred when people gawked or pointed to the gleaming mask that molded onto his normally angry looking face.

The cold November wind nipped him and for once, he could actually say he felt cold, despite wearing his heavy expensive trench coat and leather gloves. He groaned inwardly as he felt the lightest of raindrops hitting his bear cheek. He enjoyed watching rain, but did not normally like to be caught up in it. That time on the beach had been the only time and exception he let himself to be a part of the rain.

He felt stupid as he recalled leaving his Black Saturn Sky in the underground parking lot of the office buildings he had been in. When he had been leaving -well storming out at the time-, he did not want to take the car.

He continued at the pace he already was in, as the raindrops grew heavier. Above, the skies had already darkened immensely. Eve was already along its way, and he noticed that most stores were beginning to close.

"I should have just gone straight home and drinkin' bourbon or something heavy." he muttered in great disgust.

He looked up, and could see the moon shining through the heavy clouds filled of rain. When he looked back down, he saw a tiny club that he could tell was bustling as he heard loud music coming from it.

He looked at it in utter repulsion. He hated that type of scene. People getting drunk, screaming, bar fights, the horrible music. That alone was sickening to him. He knew that if he stepped one foot in there, he would get stares. People would immediately wonder why he dare come in there. Oh, and the horrible music. May I say that, that alone is the worst part of a club; it's loud, obnoxious...

"Doesn't Christine work at a club?" he wondered aloud, trying to recall exactly what she had said. He was amazed he remembered anything she said… actually if he thought about it, he remembered all the pointless little quirks about her, and all the little tidbits she had told him through their odd visits.

He tried to picture Christine working in that type of scene now. He knew she was the type who could fit herself into any kind of scenario... but from how she had spoken, she seemed like the type who wouldn't like it. This made him completely confused. She was like a rubix cube.

_All women are like rubix cubes._ He thought bitterly. They were confusing and every time he was with one, they're moods we're completely different from the last, changing every possible moment. They were also _extremely_ fickle.

"This is New York; there must be hundreds of clubs here. And what are the chances she'd be working this exact moment?" he questioned.

He did not understand why, but his feet were leading him in the direction of the God awful and loud club. He suddenly didn't care if he got any strange looks. He would just glare at them back, and that would be enough to scare them away.

He opened the doors of the dark club and he stepped in.

_Actually_, it wasn't so bad. The place was darkly lit, attracting his attention quite immensely. The walls were bricks painted black and the lighting was on low to set a certain mood. The only thing really lit up, was the stage. He noticed that there were many black, small, round tables laid out across the room with at least two black chairs stationed at each. There was also a bar to the side of the room, with miniature stools on one side.

As for the people, they seem to hardly even take notice of him. They were all engrossed with either the person on stage, or whomever they were with. He also didn't feel all that different. Some of the people in there had their own oddities. Some had strange coloured hair and some with hair that pointed upwards. Some had multiple piercings all over their bodies and some were just dressed plain odd.

He spotted an empty table at the back, and seated himself down at it.

He watched the room and everyone else for a few minutes, just taking everything in. He didn't see Christine… _stop looking for her you fool. You don't like her that much; she's just a random stranger in your life, who will leave eventually._ He reminded himself once more. He looked to the stage, but it was empty, the music coming from the speakers in the ceiling of the room.

"Hello sir, my name's Kacey, you're waitress for the evening. Would you like anything to drink or eat?" a young woman offered, suddenly appearing right before him at the table.

Erik looked up into the face of a young female waitress. He was a bit caught off guard. He hadn't actually expected anyone to actually come up to him. But he quickly said, "A Bourbon."

She took out a notepad and wrote that down. "Of course. Anything else?" Erik shook his head. "Alright, I'll be right back." she walked a bit off, when she turned and said back, "by the way, I love the mask. What kind of statement are you trying to make?"

Erik felt shocked and didn't know what to say. He was relieved when someone else started to talk to her.

"Kacey!" Tom called.

"Yes, Tom?" Kacey sighed, coming over.

"Would you mind singing a second time tonight? One of the girls called in sick." Tom replied.

"What about Christine?" she asked, not really wanting to, watching Christine ascend the stage right now, to sing her solo.

"She's not feeling up to it. Besides, I already promised her once tonight. But you, you're my favourite employee and I need you right now." he practically begged and kissed up, putting his arm around her back in a pleading manner.

"Fine, but you owe me Tom." she watched him beam. "First, let me deal with one of my customers, and then I'll fetch princess over there, and help her to her throne." she spoke sarcastically.

Kacey went and fetched Erik's bourbon and returned to his table with it.

"Um excuse me, is that woman on stage Christine Devenpeck?" he asked politely.

Erik had been watching the stage now for a few moments, but he couldn't exactly tell from the way the lighting was and where he was seated. But now he was at least ninety nine percent positive it was her.

"Oh, yes, that is her." Kacey smiled. "Would you like me to get her when she's finished up there?" Kacey asked. "I can get her to give you an autograph…" she teased.

"Oh no, that's fine!" Erik said quickly, not wanting to make a scene. He knew he probably should have never even asked to begin with.

"Because I don't mind..." she trailed off. But Erik shook his head.

As Kacey left, Erik listened closely to Christine sing. He had to admit, she was quite talented. Her pitch and tone were correct and her voice was clear, loud and had nice clarity in it. He didn't exactly know what song she was singing, but it sounded nice none the less.

_Much better than her wallowing songs._ He thought as he sipped his bourbon and watched her, completely engulfed by her voice.

Kacey headed to the foot of the stage as Christine's song neared its end. She was waiting for her second time that night. She watched as Christine smiled at the people clapping for her and descended the stage.

"Christine, there's a masked man asking for you." Kacey said to Christine as she passed, ignoring Erik's last words.

"Masked man?" Christine asked, her brows knitting in confusion. But suddenly it dawned on her what Kacey meant by 'masked man'. Only, she never thought Erik would actually come to the club. After all, it wasn't his typical scene...

"Yeah, do you know him?" Kacey asked, reading Christine's face.

Before Christine could respond, Tom called to Kacey. "Kacey, stage!"

Kacey rolled her eyes at Christine and scrunched up her nose, before smiling and going to sing. She would have to just ask Christine later.

Meanwhile, Christine went in search of the only masked man she could think of, Erik. She scanned the tables, and finally, spotted him at a table at the back. She smiled and immediately went over.

"Hey stranger." she plopped herself down on the chair across from him.

Erik looked up from the bourbon he was drinking, amused. "Fancy meeting you here, Ms. Devenpeck." he joked.

"Gotta pay the bills some way. It's either this, or work the streets." she joked, causing a gross look to fall upon Erik's face. "So what are you doing here? I thought this wasn't your type of thing."

He grinned mischievously. "Never underestimate me."

She laughed.

"So seriously, why?" she asked again.

"I kind of had a fit and I ended up storming off. I actually left my car in the underground parking lot of the building." he responded truthfully.

He did not know why he just told her everything. If Lilliana or Monique had asked him anything to do with work, he would just tell them it went fine and that the people there are bastards, end of story. But with Christine, he actually found himself wanting to tell her. Perhaps because it got it off his chest and she couldn't exactly make snide comments to him, considering she didn't know him well enough too.

_I'll probably get to know her more, and I'll stop telling her anything._ His thoughts reasoned.

"Rough day at work, eh?" she patted his shoulder. "We all have 'em eventually. At least this time though, you didn't end up at the beach." she laughed, causing Erik to laugh too.

"You know what? One day we should have a picnic on the one hundred and second floor of the Empire State Building. That will take your mind off of everything." She spoke randomly.

Erik nodded, looking at Christine oddly. Was she serious? Was it even possible to go all the ways up there?

"Perhaps when I graduate University, we can watch the Empire State Building. I heard it illuminates purple and white for graduates." she smiled, liking that idea.

"Christine!"

Christine turned to see Tom calling her. She mouthed the words, 'be right there'. She then turned back to Erik. "Well I better get back to my job. It'd be nice to be paid to sit here and chat with you." she laughed.

"I'll wait till the end of your shift then." he responded.

"It's not over for quite some time." she warned.

"I've got nothing better to do." he responded, holding up his empty glass. "Bourbon?"

"Suit yourself." she laughed, taking the empty glass and getting back to her job.

xoxo

Her shift was finally coming to an end, and Christine was extremely relieved. She had never wanted a shift to end as much as she did at this moment. Throughout the remainder of the time she had left, she kept glancing in Erik's direction, thinking he would eventually grow tired of waiting and leave. But he never did.

She wondered if why he said he was there before wasn't the only reason. Perhaps it had something to do with Monique.

"You can go Christine." Tom said, coming up behind her.

She quickly checked her watch and said quickly, "But I still have another five minutes left."

"It's ok Christine, just go. I can see that the masked man over there has been waiting for you for quite some time now." Tom responded, handing her a cheque. "And I'm not getting any more customers that I can't handle in the next five minutes."

Tom was beginning to wonder about the masked man. The last time he had heard, Raoul was going to propose to Christine. So how come she wasn't bubbly and glowing? And why was another man waiting for her? He decided not to ask though, as he knew it wasn't any of his business and he figured Raoul was still waiting.

"But what about closing?" she looked at the cheque. "But Tom, it isn't pay time -"

"Kacey offered to help me tonight. And take it. I know you're trying to pay for school. Just don't tell any of the other girls, ok?" he said quietly, smiling gently.

Christine secretly wondered what was up with Tom and Kacey. She noticed that they were acting oddly close. And Kacey hated closing down time, which was why Christine always did it for her. But Kacey had _offered_, and that was unlike her.

"Thanks Tom." she said quietly, hugging him.

"No worries. Now shoo." he made a shooing motion and Christine left.

She quickly punched out and came over to Erik, who appeared to have his head in a tabloid, reading something intently. She laughed and tapped him.

"What's the gossip?"

"Apparently a young woman named _Britney Spears_ shaved her head bald and is being sent to a clinic. Celebrities are the strangest people." he scoffed, looking at the paper in disgust.

"That's old news!" she pulled the tabloid from his hands and read the date.

"You actually read up on these things?" he asked, hiding a laugh and a smile, pretending to be dead serious.

"No! Well ok, yes... but only because when I'm in the line in the store for groceries, they put those magazines up front! What am I suppose to read then? They're right there!" she defended herself.

Erik shook his head in amusement.

"Hey, they're right there! Everyone reads them!"

"Honestly, I thought you would have been above that kind of thing. Those tabloids lie half the time anyways." he shook his head as they exited the building. But once they were outside, he asked casually, "So... what's happened to this _Britney Spears_?"

Christine's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Well, she then started dating this guy in the clinic and after she was let out, she took up singing all over again. Apparently her first gig was in someone's mansion." She saw Erik's sarcastic face and asked, "Would you like to hear all about _Lindsay Lohan_? She's an alcoholic!"

"Please don't." he said quickly.

Christine laughed and began to attempt to tell him all about her, shaking his shoulder and leaning up really close to his ear and whispering it.

"Stop it!" he laughed.

Christine still continued to fill him in as they went over to her parked car; a 1976 Buick. She unlocked the passenger side door and climbed in on the driver's side. She felt embarrassed all of a sudden, recalling his expensive leather smelling Black Saturn Sky… and she was lulling him around in this hunk of junk on wheels.

"So do you want me to drop you off at your house or the underground parking lot?" she asked.

"My house. Tomorrow I'll go down and pick it up. Just means I have to be near those horrible people once more..." he shuddered.

"Business world not so great?"

"It's a rat race." he put it simply, looking her deeply in the eyes.

He stared at her for a second, feeling strange suddenly. What was it about her that made him feel so strange? Made him feel like he could actually be honest? He pushed it to the back of his mind though, refusing to dwell on it further.

"But isn't all of life?" she asked in return, as she pulled out of the parking lot.

The rest of the car ride was filled with minor talking. When Christine pulled into his driveway, they said their goodbyes.

xoxo

"Salt and Vinegar chips; check. Smarties; check. Two liter Coke; check. Popcorn; check." Christine listed off what she had on the coffee table in her living room.

She went over to the DVD player and put in one of her movies. She then dimmed the lighting and plopped herself down on the couch and beckoned for Angus to join her. The cat immediately sauntered over and hopped on the couch and curled up next to her.

"Now to just start the movie..."

The phone began to ring.

"Damn it. I knew I should have unplugged that damn thing!" she reached over and pulled the cordless phone to her ear. "What?" she said kind of rudely.

"Christine?" Kacey asked. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"No, no, it's fine! What's going on?"

"Just called to talk. I never got a chance to ask you about Raoul today. Spill the damn gossip about the date already! I'm dieing here! Even Tom wants to know!" Kacey demanded.

"It went fine." Christine said succinctly.

"Fine? That's all?! Obviously there's more! Did he finally pop the question? Christine, for Christ's sake, give me answers here!"

Christine blinked a few times, in order to keep her tears in check. She then said softly, "I told him no Kacey." one tear slipped past its barricade.

Christine turned and shut the DVD off. She then got up and turned the light all the ways back up.

"What? Why? But you're freakin' in love with him! Is it that masked man? Oh my God, you're not cheating on Raoul with a man wearing a child's Halloween mask, are you?"

"Erik has nothing to do with this Kacey. I... I just couldn't." she started to openly cry now. "Something just told me this wasn't right. I don't know what to do! He's my best friend and... And I still care for him!" she sobbed.

"Christine," Kacey spoke softly. "Are you afraid?"

"No - yes. I don't know! Tell me what to do Kacey! Tell me how to feel!"

"Christine, I can't tell you what to do. Listen, why don't we go shopping tomorrow and have a girl's day out?" Kacey suggested, determined to get more answers from her in person, than she could get on the phone.

"But school -"

"Can live without you for one day. Play hookie. And don't give me any of your bullshit about how important it is to be there. You're a straight 'A' student, and the Dean can last one day without you Christine. As for work, I'll convince Tom to let us have the day off."

Christine paused for a moment, considering her options. It was true, she didn't exactly have to go to school... she was caught up on everything and was done all of her major projects... and if there was anything new, she could catch up on it pretty quick. Maybe it was a good idea to have a girl's day out with Kacey. Goodness knows she missed spending time with another female.

"You're the best Kacey." Christine said finally.

"I know." Kacey laughed. "So tomorrow at noon, I'll meet you at the coffee shop?"

"Yupp, see you there."


	6. Girl's Day Out

A/N: Here's my latest update for this story! Sorry it's taking such a long time to be updated... :P Been stressed a lot lately... but I promise, the more reviews, the quicker I'll try and get the chapters coming. Any who, there's references to Pilates in here... for anyone who doesn't know, Pilates is a form of exercise, similar to that of Yoga. I do it everyday though... I swear, it's painful and hard at first, but I love it! lol.

Ok, so onwards we go.

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 6: Girl's Day Out.

Christine climbed the stairs of the subway station the following downcast afternoon, her hands crammed into her coat's pockets. She had decided not to take her car, as Kacey had suggested they use hers. That and it saved her gas which was always a bonus. She walked along the sidewalk and headed in the direction of the coffee shop. It was nearly noon now.

She pushed it out of her mind that she had skipped school. If she even remotely stopped and considered it, she may need a paper bag to blow in. She had never missed a day of school. _Never_. School was too important to her because she was the one mainly flipping the bill for it.

_But Kasey's right... I do need a day off._

She gazed at all the people walking down the streets; people who all had their own set of problems and worries; people who had a place to be. Perhaps that was the reason she liked New York. It was bustling with life. No one paid any attention to anyone else, because they all had their own lives and problems to deal with.

Yet, she still couldn't extinguish the feeling that some people seemed to see right through her... to her very soul. She usually avoided eye contact with anyone for that matter.

She pushed her thoughts away as she came to the coffee shop and entered the small building, the bells jingling as the door opened. She smiled as the smell of roasting coffee beans hit her nostrils. She loved the smell of coffee. It reminded her of her father, who had been an incessant coffee drinker.

"Christine!" Kacey called from a table right next to a window near the door.

Christine smiled brightly as she moved through the bundles of people and dropped her purse on the table and took a seat across from Kacey, who was sipping a cup of coffee. "Hey!" Christine gasped.

"That didn't take you long Chris. But you do realize you're now going to smell like subways and hobos." Kacey laughed, teasing her friend.

Christine rolled her eyes.

"Nice seeing you too." Christine said sarcastically.

"Not having a heart attack, missing school, are you?" Kacey asked.

"No. But you did talk to Tom, right? I'm not going to get a call from him freaking out that I didn't show up, am I?" Christine questioned.

"No, no. We have the day off, so don't sweat it already. So enough talk about work, this is supposed to be a relaxing day!" Kacey shook her head. "But details first; tell me all about Raoul. Tell me exactly what happened."

"I told you, he proposed and I said no." Christine retorted, not liking this subject to much.

"Well that can't be only what happened! Where did he propose? Did he have a ring? I know he's been having problems... come on Christine, I'm literally dieing here! You need to give me more details already!" Kacey gasped.

Christine pulled Kacey's cup of coffee towards her and drank a bit.

"Yes, he had a ring. It was very pretty too... but I said no. I just don't think the time's ready, that's all. We're still really young, and we need to put our lives together first. None of us can afford to support a marriage... and I need to finish school first and he's still struggling to pay to keep his mother in the clinic." Christine explained convincing her self it was the right decision.

"Christine, come on! You're talking to me! I don't buy that shit for a minute. You've been dating him for what, how long now? Four freaking years! Obviously something else is on your mind. It wouldn't happen to be a certain masked man... would it?" Kacey suggested.

Christine's head shot up and her eyes widened. "You mean Erik? Kacey, I just met the guy! He's my friend, nothing more! In fact, I picture him as more of a brother!" she said defensively. Somehow though, maybe the classification of brother wasn't quite right...

"Fine, so maybe Erik isn't the reason. You told me you loved Raoul! Do you honestly and truly want it to end?" Kacey said seriously. "Because that's where it's heading Chris…"

Christine looked down inside Kacey's cup of coffee and took a stirring straw and began to swirl it around in the coffee.

"No, I don't. I just want to keep everything the way it was before. But I don't think he wants the same thing..." Christine said sadly, admitting her heart.

"You'd be surprised. Come on sweetie, you two have known each other for twenty years, no one can just throw away that kind of thing just because of a proposal that didn't go well. I'm pretty sure he wants to go back to before as well." Kacey rubbed Christine's hand reassuringly. "Which is why after today, you're going to call him and ask him out."

Christine rolled her eyes and smiled at her best friend. "You're great Kace." The more she thought of it, the more it appealed to her. She cared for him deeply, and wasn't going to let it be destroyed because she wasn't ready to take the plunge. _I should just be happy to know that he's ready for that kind of step._

"I know." Kacey smiled.

"I have a question for you." Christine said, looking Kacey in the eyes, after a few moments.

"Spill,"

"Are you happy?" Christine asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Am I happy? What do you mean?" Kacey asked, leaning forwards on the table, eyeing Christine.

"I mean, are you happy? It's a simple question, is it not? Are you happy?" Christine repeated.

"That's not too easy to answer." Kacey responded.

"Yes it is. Either you are, or you're not." Christine stated.

"Um, I don't know. Are you happy?"

"I asked you the question." Christine retorted, stifling a laugh.

"I don't know. I guess my life is going ok... I've got a job, a roof over my head... a best friend who asks me stupid questions like this." Kacey smiled. "Seriously though, it is a hard question. You have to take in consideration, everything in your life."

Christine shook her head and laughed.

"Stop mocking me! You asked me this stupid unanswerable question!" Kacey hit Christine's shoulder.

"I didn't think you'd have such a hard time." Christine smiled, watching her uncomfortable friend try to answer her question.

"Well if it's so easy for you, you answer it!" Kacey huffed.

Christine thought for a few moments and said finally, "Yes, I think I am happy. I mean things aren't well with Raoul... but overall, I'm pretty happy." Christine lied. She'd never admit it, but she was quite depressed, but perhaps that was why she asked this stupid question to begin with.

Kacey rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's get our day going already." she grabbed Christine's arm and they left.

xoxo

"God, I knew I shouldn't have eaten that second cinnamon roll today!" Kacey yelled from the stall she was in. "These jeans don't fit!" she complained.

Christine laughed and asked, "So you want the next size up?" she could hear the muffled griped 'yes', and went to fetch the hated pair of jeans at the moment. She came back and threw them over the stall. "Well?"

"I've declared myself back on a diet!" she yelled.

"Just come out and let me take a look!" Christine responded, leaning against a stall door.

She heard grumbling as Kacey opened the stall door and stepped out. "Fine, but this means you have to try something on next! I've been the only one trying anything on here!"

Christine smiled and nodded. "I don't know if we're looking at the same person here, but you look totally fine!"

Kacey narrowed her eyes at her. "Definitely going on a diet now!" she grumbled as she went back in the stall and changed.

When she came back out, she began searching the clothing racks, looking for something for Christine to try on. "Found something!" she held up a slinky red cocktail dress that cut off at mid thigh.

"I am not trying that on!" Christine shook her head, holding her hands up.

Kacey pushed Christine in a stall and threw the dress in. "Oh yes you are!" she stated.

"I'm not coming out in this!" Christine yelled.

"Oh yes you are!" Kacey yelled. Christine, come out or I'll tell everyone about that night you got drunk…" Kacey threatened.

After a few minutes, Christine came out of the stall in the dress and stood there feeling embarrassed.

"I hate you! How come you can eat whatever you want, and look so totally beautiful! What is wrong with this picture?!" Kacey demanded, glaring at her best friend who stood there looking incredible in the dress.

Christine went crimson. "I'm changing now." she felt people's eyes on her around the store as Kacey yelled.

"You have to buy the dress." Kacey declared.

Christine came back out from the change room in her normal clothes and said, "Why? I have absolutely no purpose for it!"

Kacey reached out and grabbed the red dress from Christine's grasp. She threw it in the basket and said again, "You're buying the dress. No buts, you'll thank me later."

Christine rolled her eyes and followed Kacey, who quickly sifted through clothing racks and was already picking out several pairs of jeans and shirts and throwing them in her basket all at once.

"You do not need all those clothes!" Christine pointed at the basket.

Kacey held the basket tighter to her chest and exclaimed, "Yes I do!"

"And may you be buying all these clothes for Tom...?" Christine teased, watching Kacey's face intently for her reaction...

... And she got it.

"I am not! Why would I buy all these clothes for my boss? He's my boss! I do not like Tom!"

"I never said you liked Tom."

Kacey's face was beginning to go red now. "Well you were implying it! I DO NOT like Tom! What makes you think I like Tom? Does he like me or something? Has he said something to that effect?" Kacey demanded.

Christine smiled as she looked upon her fretting friend.

"Ok fine, I like him! It's not like it's a big deal or anything! God Christine, stop smiling! It's no like you discovered the world's greatest secret or anything!" Kacey said defensively.

Christine's smile grew bigger.

"Do you think it's wrong to like my boss?" Kacey asked, quietly this time.

Christine led her friend to the couch section of the store and sat her down on one of the couches. She sat down across from her on a black leather armchair.

"Do you think it's wrong?" Christine asked back.

"If this were any normal question, I would have freaked at you for asking a question back. I don't think its wrong... but he's so much older and he is my boss and has been married before..."

"Who cares? It's not like he's still with her." Christine responded, leaning forward and putting her elbows down on her knees.

"Yes... but would he really want to be with someone like me? I'm no wheres near his age and why would he want someone like me?" Kacey took out a chocolate bar from her purse and opened it and took a bite, sighing dissipatedly at her predicament.

"I think he'd love you. In fact, I think he does love you." Christine imitated him. "_You're my favourite employee and I need you right now!_ Oh Kacey, I love you!" she made fake kisses, laughing extremely hard at the horrified look on her friend's face.

"You added the last part. But you heard him say that to me?" Kacey asked, sitting forward now, too.

"Yes! Talk to him at work tomorrow!" Christine insisted.

"Really?" she paused for a sec. "You're right! I need to do it." Kacey smiled, standing up. "And take this horrible devil!" she handed Christine the hated chocolate bar. "I'm buying us a Pilate's video!" she grabbed Christine's arm.

"Wait, we? You're the one on the diet here!" Christine griped as her friend dragged her through the store.

"Yes... but I can't do this without you! Please Christine!" Kacey turned and looked at her with a pouty face.

"Fine, get your stupid video." Christine relented.

Kacey smiled as she sifted through the aisles till she found the workout section. "I think I found one!"

"I swear though, you tell anyone, I will plead innocent about this whole thing!" Christine warned.

Kacey went up to the counter and bought all her things. She pulled the red dress out and threw it at Christine. "You're buying that dress!"

"I have no use for it!" Christine retorted, clutching the red dress in one hand.

"I don't care; you're buying the red dress! I'll find a reason for it!" Kacey stated, holding her ground.

"Fine," Christine gave in and paid for the red dress. "I still won't have any purpose for it." she muttered as Kacey dragged her out of the store and into the food court nearby.

"Come, let's get food!" she declared.

"But that's the food court! I thought you were on a diet!"

"Well yes... but my diet hasn't begun until after I start the Pilates!" Kacey stated, as if it were common sense here.

xoxo

Christine sat on her couch in her only pair of sweats and in a baggy shirt as she watched Kacey setting up for the Pilates. "Remind me again why we have to do this in my apartment?"

"Because you have less stuff, so there is more room." Kacey said for the umpteenth time to Christine that night. "Now come on, get over here! The video is about to begin!"

Christine griped as she got down on the floor next to Kacey as the video began.

She watched for a few minutes, as the lady began. She cringed at some of the things she saw. "You've got to be kidding me! I can't do that!" she glared at the screen as the lady on there began with a hard position.

"Shut up and do it!" Kacey insisted.

The phone began to ring and Christine was relieved to have an excuse to leave this horrible video. She immediately got up and dashed to the phone in silent happiness.

"You still have to continue after!" Kacey yelled, breathing hard, as she attempted the challenging move, where her legs suspended forwards and flung themselves over her head in an unfashionable movement.

"Hello?" Christine gasped into the phone after a few pauses, "Raoul!"

Kacey immediately watched Christine as she heard her utter his name. But she cursed as Christine made her way into her bedroom and shut the door behind her self.

"Raoul, what are you calling about?" she asked immediately. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah everything's fine." he said from the other line. "I just thought that maybe we should talk. Last time things didn't exactly go well..."

"Oh yeah. Look I was going to call. We do really need to talk and I'm so relieved you called!" Christine pushed all her clothing out of the way and sat down on her bed next to Mr. Jube, stroking the cat.

Raoul was silent for a minute. "Well..."

"I don't want to break up! I still really love you!" Christine interjected. "I think we should just start again. Please."

"Is that what you really want Christine?" he asked, trying to ignore the image of the masked man who had been with Christine the last time. "If there's somebody else, you would tell me, wouldn't you?"

"Raoul, there's no one else! Erik is just a friend. Besides, he already has a girlfriend!" Christine insisted once again.

"I'm sorry... I guess I just got jealous... and you're right, it is a bit to soon for a marriage. I just really love you, and I really want you to know that Christine. How about we go out tomorrow night and grab a bite?" Raoul suggested.

"You can't Christine! I promised Tom you'd work an extra hour on your shift tomorrow!" Kacey called from the other side of Christine's bedroom door.

Christine stood up and opened the door. "Shoo!" she made a hand sweeping motion, and then slammed the door.

Raoul laughed on the other end. "I take it Kacey's with you?"

"Yeah... we kind of had a 'girl's day out'."

"Doesn't sound like you. What about school?" Raoul asked.

"She kind of made me play hooky..." Christine said slowly.

She was enjoying this. Now she and Raoul could get back to how things were before. She was glad they had managed to patch things up... she honestly did not know what she would without him. He had been her protector for as long as she could remember.

_Perhaps the stars are aligned once again._ Christine thought happily.

"No seriously, what really happened today?" Raoul asked again.

Christine laughed. "I told you! I actually skipped!"

"You skipped now? Then how come all those times in high school, you wouldn't skip with me?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? And have old Crumplebottom after my ass! I swear that old bag had eyes in the back of her head and hearing like a hawk!"

"Do you remember that big bag she always carried with her...?" Raoul chuckled.

"Yeah, she'd take out her knitting one minute and knit for five minutes, then quickly stuff it back in the oversized bag! And she did it repeatedly through the whole day too!" Christine was laughing so hard now, her cheeks were burning.

"She had more than just knitting in there..."

"Christine!" Kacey whined from the other side, dragging out the last syllables of her name.

"I better get back... Kacey is making me do Pilates with her." Christine explained.

"You, do Pilates? Your tiny body can barely hold itself up everyday!" Raoul gasped.

"Bye you dork. I'll see you the day after tomorrow." Christine rolled her eyes.

She hit the 'talk' button on the phone and threw it back on the bed and left the room to find Kacey attempting to do one of the 'teasers'. She cringed at how painful it looked. "Don't think I didn't hear you scrambling. That position is definitely new to you!" Christine laughed.

Kacey looked at her and collapsed sooner than that lady in the movie. "Meeting him the day after tomorrow, eh? Aren't you glad I made you buy that skimpy dress now?"

Christine rolled her eyes and got down on the floor next to her and attempted to mimic the lady on the screen.

"God, how can that lady always smile?!"


	7. Meet Lilliana

Last Chapter: Christine plays hooky with Kacey to have a girls day out. She also makes up with Raoul.

xoxo

Chapter 7: Meet Lilliana.

Erik stood in the terminal waiting for Lilliana to return from her friend's house in Michigan.

He made sure he was dressed to the nines and that he did not make any eye contact with anyone else. It was bad enough he was out in public... if he was going to have to be there, he was going to look wealthy and look down upon these outer scum people.

He shook his arm, pushing the sleeve of his fancy tailored coat up. He looked at his watch and groaned. He had been there for about half an hour now and was growing tired and restless of waiting.

However, he was still quite worried to tell Lilliana the news. How would he ever be able to tell her it didn't work out with Monique... all because of his face? The look that'd be on her face...

His gaze landed on a tabloid lying on the ground. He bent over and picked it up and began to read the headlines.

The things celebrities do... He inwardly laughed as he read the stupid things and quarrels all these celebrities had; especially over other girls or boys significant other.

"Erik!"

Erik immediately threw down the tabloid when he heard his name called and turned in the direction of the voice.

Lilliana clutched her luggage against her frail body as she made her way through the crowds of people towards Erik. He was quite easy to pick out from the crowd... which caused her to smile at her young man.

"Always dressed above everyone!" Lilliana smiled. She dropped her luggage at her feet and demanded, "Give your dear mother a hug Erik!" she leaned upwards and embraced her son.

Despite the surroundings, Erik hugged her back and genuinely smiled as he in took her familiar perfume. As a child, that had always been a comfort to him.

He looked Lilliana over. She still looked the same as usual. Her grey and white hair hung around her shoulders and face, framing her slightly wrinkled face that always had a smile on it. She only reached Erik's shoulder and always wore a matching skirt and jacket. She was unusually thin... but Erik decided not to ask. Probably another diet of hers...

She pulled back. She looked around the terminal noticing people holding up signs with the name of the person or persons, they were waiting for. "How come you don't have a sign with my name on it?"

"Honestly Lilliana, I think you can spot me anywhere without me having to hold up a sign." he said, picking up her bags as they exited the airport.

"Don't call me that. It's mom. And still, the thought is nice." she looked around at the parking lot. "I hope you didn't bring that fancy sports cars of yours... we'll never fit my luggage into that two seat contraption you bought for absolutely no reason!"

Erik rolled his eyes and smiled. _These are the good times._ "No mom, I bought the Daimler Chrysler this time."

"Good. And why must you always dress so fancy? This isn't a business meeting here! You should try wearing a pear of jeans some time." she insisted as the two climbed into the black vehicle.

He put the keys in the ignition. "Me, wear jeans?" he scoffed as he leaned over and kissed her on her wrinkled cheek. "I'm glad you're home mom." he said sincerely.

Lilliana smiled. "Good, I'm glad to be home too. But I do hope, for your sake, Monique can train you though." she shook her head.

"She'll have quite the challenge when you two get married!"

Erik froze in place at the mention of Monique.

"Erik?" Lilliana asked. "You're as white as a ghost! What's wrong?" she clutched his arm.

"Oh nothing; just thinking about a business deal, that's all." he gave her an easy smile as he turned the car on.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

Erik shook his head.

Lilliana sighed. Erik had never talked about anything personal with anyone. Not even business... this in itself wasn't really all that personal. She had always thought that maybe he'd at least talk about his life more with Monique... but even she was quite limited on information Erik would give her. She sometimes wondered how Monique liked him. Yes, he was a good person at heart. But he could be so distant...

"Erik," Erik could hear a twinkle in Lilliana's voice, causing him to momentarily look at her. "Are you going to keep an old woman waiting forever, just to hear about this proposal?"

Erik could literally feel himself become sick at the mention of the proposal.

"Erik?"

Erik pulled into a parking lot. "Where are we going Erik?" Lilliana asked.

"I'm buying you lunch." he stated, turning the keys and pulling them from the ignition.

"Yes... but why?" she asked, concerned. "Is there something important you need to tell me?"

Erik sighed. "Well no... Ok, yes... over lunch would be best."

Lilliana shook her head as her and Erik climbed out of the car and headed into a strange looking restaurant. You could almost tell he was a business owner... the way he talked. Over lunch would be best? Definitely business tycoon talk.

"Yes, two people please." Erik said immediately to the lady at the desk.

Lilliana looked around the semi busy restaurant. It wasn't at all like the restaurants Erik usually went to. He normally picked the more expensive, exclusive and higher up ones. The ones tabloids raved celebrities had been to. This one... was a more cheap restaurant for the more 'normal people'; or, for the huge families with lots of kids. _I hope Erik and Monique have children. I'd love to be a grandmother who can actually see her grandchildren._ Lilliana thought as she followed Erik to the other side of the restaurant.

The two were both seated and the waitress left, giving Lilliana a chance to talk. "This must not have been planned." she noted. "You don't normally pick restaurants like this..."

Erik looked up from the cheap plastic menu he was handed. She was right; he didn't normally go to these types of restaurants. One, there was always cheap service. Two, the food wasn't all that great. Three, there was always a baby or child that would start crying or screaming for some ridiculous reason.

As if on cue, a baby only a few booths down, began to cry.

Lilliana laughed as she saw Erik visibly cringe. "You know Erik; you're going to have to get use to that sound when Monique starts producing you one of those. Speaking of which, are you going to tell me all about the proposal?"

Erik opened his mouth to say something, when he gasped. He could see the baby taking its mashed food and throwing it across the table. The parents just sat there making funny noises, faces and laughing.

"I think they should teach that child some manners." Erik cursed. "This is a restaurant, not a circus!" he turned towards his mother and changed the subject before she could approach Monique again. "How was your stay with... what's her name?"

"You mean Adrianna." Erik nodded. "Oh, it was very good. One of her sons just joined the marines... and she's quite happy and proud. But don't worry, I mentioned my multi millionaire business tycoon son." she laughed.

"I thought I told you not to mention Me." he narrowed his eyes.

"Well yes... I know... but you're my son and I'm extremely proud of you. Can't a mother be proud of her son?" she insisted.

"She very well can. But you know I don't like my name being mentioned to your friends and family."

Lilliana was about to say that her family was his family too, when she saw Erik pale immensely. She turned her head and couldn't help but suppress a grin when she saw the lady begin to breast feed the baby.

"That is inappropriate! Especially in a restaurant!" he grimaced.

Lilliana began to laugh even harder now. She held onto her stomach as Erik began to rant and turn a shade of crimson in embarrassment. "That's something that should be done in private! I'd never let my wife do that!" he continued to rant.

"Erik, stop watching." Lilliana said finally, as she managed to control herself. "They're going to notice..."

"I don't care if they notice! And I don't think they care if I notice either! I don't think they care if anyone notices!" he exclaimed, putting his face in his hands.

"Well, I don't think you have to worry... Monique isn't the type of person to do that." she said, putting her hand over Erik's as he set his back down on the table.

Erik quickly changed the subject from Monique. "God, I hate this restaurant." he looked around. "The décor is atrocious. And what is with the abstract painting of the old man? Not to mention, everything is incredibly filthy!" he griped, taking his napkin and wiping the table. "I can't even fathom what the restrooms must look like..."

"You're too much Erik." Lilliana laughed. "I ought to take you into one of these restaurants more often."

"And what about the service? I mean, our waitress has been gone for how long now? In the other, better restaurants, they're usually quick and making sure you receive excellent treatment." he criticized.

"That's because they know you're wealthy. You have to be wealthy to eat at those restaurants." Lilliana shook her head. "Honestly, I bet you don't even know what McDonalds is."

Erik looked at her sternly.

Lilliana laughed again and demanded, "Now stop changing the subject, and tell me all about the proposal. I can't wait to have Monique over for dinner soon to talk about it with her. I'm also thinking I should probably meet her parents..." she patted Erik's cheek.

"Have you lost weight?" Erik asked.

Lilliana stared at Erik. "Don't change the subject Erik." she decided she wasn't going to talk about what the doctor had said to her... the proposal was far more important to her right now.

Erik looked down at the grimy table and took a huge breath. The time had come to tell her. There was no getting around it. "I don't think you'll be meeting her parents..."

Lilliana looked at him concerned. "Oh no, what happened? No one's injured, are they?"

"No one's injured, Lilliana." he grumbled.

"Erik, tell me what's wrong right now." she insisted.

He sighed and stared at his rusty fork while he picked it up and examined it. He didn't want to make eye contact with her, so he kept his eyes averted. "She said no."

"What?" Lilliana gasped. "Erik," she gasped, taking his hand from the fork and into hers. She squeezed tightly. "She said no?" he nodded. "But that doesn't make any sense! Monique loves you! Just the other day she mentioned that it would be nice to spend the rest of her life with you!"

"Well, she obviously hadn't meant it." Erik said rudely. More rudely then he had meant to.

Lilliana was about to say something, when their waitress showed up again. "Hi, may I take your order?" the girl mumbled, staring at the mask on Erik's face; although Erik didn't notice. He was to busy with his head down, sulking.

"Could you come back in a bit?" Lilliana asked politely.

"Um, I could... but it'd be easier if you just ordered right now." the girl took out a notepad.

"Well as you can see, my son and I here, are quite frankly, not ready." Lilliana practically hissed. "So please come back in a bit." she spit out each word, trying to get her point across to the rude pizza face teen who had the gall to stare at Erik.

"Whatever," the girl left.

"Such rude behavior," Lilliana muttered. She turned to Erik, "Erik, did she see beneath?" Lilliana tried to ask softly. She knew this was a sore area for her to be talking about with Erik.

Erik looked up at Lilliana and shook his head.

"Then why didn't she want to? Look, I know this isn't easy to talk about... but I know you love her and vice versa. I won't let this go down the drain because of some foolish misunderstanding!"

"Lilliana -"

"Mom!" she barked, louder than she meant to. She blushed when everyone in the room turned and looked at her. "Erik, I'm going to fix this... ok? Don't worry about it. Now come on, let's go. I don't want to be here when the rude pizza face teen returns."  
Erik gave her a strange look, but Lilliana was already pulling on Erik's arm and leaving.

xoxo

Erik walked into the kitchen that night. "What smells so delicious?" he asked, smiling as he took a seat down on the stool against the island counter.

"I'm making pot roast, mashed potatoes with gravy, a bit of corn and peas, garlic bread and a Cesar salad. It's my celebratory dinner for returning home to my favourite child." she took off her stove mitts and came over to Erik and kissed him on the non masked side of his face.

Erik knew this was her way of thanking him for never leaving her and being the one there for her. He knew all about her other children... the one's who never visited their dear old mother or let their children see their grandma. He also knew that the day they found out about him, they had taken an immediate hatred to him.

He sighed as he recalled one Christmas when he was only eight...

_ It was a beautiful Christmas morning. Erik had woken up and being the child that he was immediately raced downstairs. His eyes glowed as he spotted a real Christmas tree that went from ground up and touched the ceiling of their living room; all decorated and glistening, with presents underneath. It even had an angel at the very top.  
_

_He was even happier as his gaze landed outside and he noticed the huge pile of snow outside. He knew that it was truly Christmas.  
_

_ His head turned as he heard the creaking of the staircase. Lilliana was descending it... but she was all dressed up. She came over to him and reminded, "Erik, its Christmas... you have to go get dressed for Church."  
_

_ "But it's not Sunday." he pointed out, his gaze going back to the presents hungrily.  
_

_ Lilliana kneeled down to be at his height. "I know... but Christmas is a special day. It's the Lord's birthday, and we must go celebrate it like we would on your birthday."  
_

_ "Can we open up presents after?" he asked.  
_

_ "Yes. Just go hurry upstairs and put on your nicest outfit. Your brothers and sisters are visiting! We'll be meeting them in Church, and after they'll come over and stay for Christmas." Erik could tell immediately that Lilliana was overjoyed with that piece of information. His brothers and sisters never visited. Not on Easter, not even on their mother's birthday... only Christmas.  
_

_ Erik scurried up the staircase of their small little home and got changed fast into his Sunday attire. He came racing back down to find Lilliana waiting for him.  
_

_ "Ready?" she asked. Little Erik nodded and the two left.  
_

_ Mass that morning seemed to go fairly slow. Usually it was faster... but this time Erik was excited to get home to open up his presents. He noticed though, that his sisters and brothers and their families, did not even really sit nearby him and Lilliana. He knew Lilliana was trying not to make a scene of it by crying... but Erik could see past her false facade.  
_

_ After mass was over, Erik asked Lilliana, "May I go get a juice and cookie?"  
_

_ Lilliana nodded and went over to her other children as Erik went into another room in the Church. She hugged them all, telling them how she missed them all.  
_

_ "Likewise," they all said. They didn't even put an ounce of emotion into it.  
_

_ Lilliana tried not to make anything of it... but she wished that her children could at least sound like they cared.  
_

_ Everyone soon went home. They all began to open up presents while drinking coffee, chocolate liquor and eggnog. It was a pretty good time for all. No one really talked to Erik... not even the kids his age, but he paid no heed. He was use to solitude and being ignored by the other children in school.  
_

_ It came time for dinner and Lilliana had been preparing a feast for all. She told Erik and the other children to go upstairs and wash their hands.  
_

_ All the kids took off at a run upstairs. He tried to get through, but they all shoved past him and butted in front of him in the line.  
_

_ "Excuse me," Erik tapped a boy on the shoulder. "You budged and it's quite rude..." he stated, remembering the manner sheet in his classroom at school.  
_

_ The boy turned and stuck his tongue out at him.  
_

_ "That's not nice." Erik said sadly.  
_

_ "I don't care!" the boy turned towards him and shoved Erik. "My mommy and daddy say you're just a freak!" the rest of the kids began to laugh.  
_

_ Erik turned and walked to his room. He sat on his bed crying. He knew that Lilliana's children and grandchildren would never accept him... but he had always hoped.  
_

_ When he noticed that the kids were all done and gone, he got up from his bed and began to climb downstairs. He stopped though, at the top stair when he heard his name mentioned.  
_

_ "Mother, when are you going to get rid of that thing?" one of his sisters demanded.  
_

_ "His name is Erik. And he is not a thing." Lilliana said defensively.  
_

_ "He doesn't belong in our family." another said.  
_

_ Erik sat down on the third stair from the top, as he heard the rest of the family -except Lilliana,- agree. His tears began to flow freely at their horrible terms for him.  
_

_ "You should just get rid of him. He is a mockery to our family and to you." one of the brothers said. "Even our children are afraid of him. What does that tell you?" he demanded.  
_

_ Erik took off his mask and sat it down next to him on the stair as he took the arm of his wool sweater and wiped away the tears. His face stung against the rough material Lilliana had used to knit him a winter sweater.  
_

_ "He is going to turn on you one day." another warned Lilliana. "Probably New York's next top murderer."  
_

_ Erik turned at the distinct sound of screaming and crying. A little girl his age was at the bottom of the staircase sobbing when she saw him. The mother and father of the girl came running over to their daughter. The father picked her up and the mother gave Erik a dirty look.  
_

_ Erik was quickly scrambling to put his mask on, but the family had all come over to see what was going on, and saw Erik's face. They all cringed in disgust.  
_

_ "Oh God, that's hideous!"  
_

_ "Mother, get rid of him now! Look at what he has done to Jessica!" his sister said, pointing to the sobbing child.  
Lilliana immediately rushed to see what had been happening. She saw Erik turn and flee up the remainder of the staircase. _

_She could hear the distinct sound of his bedroom door slamming.  
_

_ "Look at what you've all done!" Lilliana gasped at her family. "He may be different, but that is no reason to gawk or point fingers at him! What would Christ think?" she demanded. "You've made that poor boy, who did absolutely nothing wrong, cry! Don't judge, lest ye be judged!"  
_

_ She went upstairs and knocked on Erik's door. "Erik?" she called.  
_

_ "Go away!" he sobbed. "I'm just a monster!"  
_

_ Lilliana opened the door a crack to find Erik lying on the bed, his face buried in his pillow. She could see the mask was lying dejectedly on the ground and that he had one of her mirrors next to him, all smashed. She crossed the room in a few steps and was kneeling beside him, her hand on his small back, trying to rub away the pain.  
_

_ "Erik, sweetie, it's alright. They didn't mean it."  
_

_ "Yes they did." he said into his pillow.  
_

_ "Look at me Erik." Lilliana said. Erik refused to budge. "Erik..."  
_

_ "No," he said adamantly.  
_

_ "Look, I love you and that's all that matters." Lilliana said softly, trying to take Erik into her embrace. He refused to let her though. "Please come down for dinner... I promise they won't say anything more about it. I even made your favourite... chocolate raspberry pie, especially for you."  
_

_ "Leave me alone." he said coldly.  
_

_ "Erik -"  
_

_ Erik finally turned and sat up till he faced her. She could see the mangled side of his face. It was all red, puffy and covered with tears. He had a great scowl across his face and he said dangerously, "Leave me alone."  
_

_ Lilliana did not argue further. She stood and left the room, shutting the door behind him.  
_

_ The family the rest of the night, sat at the table giving each other triumphant looks and taking any chance they could, to criticize and mock the poor boy... much against Lilliana's wish.  
_

_ Erik never left his room that night. He lay there, crying and longing for God to just take him... or at least someone who could love him. He knew that this was officially the worst Christmas ever._

"Erik, dinner is ready!" Lilliana called from another room. "I've set dinner up in the dining room. It's much more special than our regular spot." She was referring to the island counter.

Erik got up from the counter and walked over to the dining room. He looked upon the table that had a great feast. He felt his mouth water immediately at the site. But before going and sitting down, he went over to Lilliana and kissed her on the cheek. He then hugged her.

"Erik, what's this for?" she asked, shocked but delighted.

"Nothing... just thanks for everything Mom."

She sat down and smiled. "You don't need to thank me... I love you Erik, and I love taking care of my favourite child."  
Erik smiled and the two immediately began to pray. When they finished their prayer, they dug in.

"I hope you've been going to Church while I was away." she stated, looking him straight in the eye from across the table.

"Of course." he lied.

"Good. I don't want you to be like my other children. I thought I had raised them better than this... as decent Catholics... but I guess wrong." she wagged her fork in the air, trying to make a point.

Erik smiled down at his food. Yupp, Lilliana hadn't changed.

"Has anyone at Church been asking about me?"

"Um, a few." he responded, lying again.

"Oh, who?"

"The Nielson family." he said any family that came to mind. "The Priest may have mentioned your name..."

"See, I have loved ones at Church. That's what I want for you too. I don't think anyone at Church will ever judge you."

"I do rather like the organ they use in the Church..." Erik said more to himself.

"What? Are you telling me you go to Church for the organ?" she saw his face. "Erik Jonathan Devereux! I had expected better than that!" but she began to smile, telling Erik that she had already known all along.

"The food is excellent Mother." he praised after a bit.

"I know," she smiled. "I used our famous family recipe. One day I'm going to pass it down to Monique and she can continue It." she saw Erik's expression. "Erik, I'm going to talk to her and see what's wrong."

"Please don't Mom." Erik said immediately, dropping his fork on his plate. He could already imagine how embarrassed Monique would be. He also didn't need her telling Lilliana that Erik had attempted sex with her. He could just see how Lilliana would react...

"Erik, stay out of it. I will fix this problem and all will be well. You'll see."

Erik just couldn't imagine this going well.


	8. A Turn of Events

Last Chapter: Erik picks up his mother Lilliana from the airport. He breaks the news to her and she decides that she'll fix everything between Monique and him.

A/N: Ackkkkkkk, so tied up with school work:P Lots and lots of tests... at least after this week, it's my two week spring break! Also a lot of emotional problems... those are the worst.

And please review, it'll encourage and help me to update more often :)

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 8: A Turn of Events.

Christine swerved and maneuvered herself around the tables as she carried two platters filled with drinks to different tables. It was a busy Thursday evening, and her shift was slowly, but surely, coming to an end... much to her relief.

She checked her watch again after she had dropped the drinks off at their tables and made polite, quick little conversation with the people at the tables that began to talk to her.

As she was passing Kacey, she smiled and gave her a look. She was still waiting for Kacey to talk to Tom... who had unsurprisingly, had an excuse each day this week for why she _couldn't_ tell Tom.

"Just do it." Christine hissed into her friend's ear.

Kacey turned to follow Christine, her mouth open to say something, when Tom called her. "Kacey!" she turned to face him, all embarrassed. "I know you've been closing down this past week... so do you want me to ask Christine? I'm sure she won't mind..."

"No!" she interjected loudly. He looked at her, a bit shocked. "I mean don't... Christine has to go somewhere tonight... I really don't mind closing down..." she lied as she bit her lip and secretly kicked herself for sounding like such an idiot.

"Ok." he was about to turn around... "Hey Kacey, are you feeling alright? Normally you don't like closing..." he trailed off.

"No!" she yelled again. She felt her face turning a bright red. "Well, I mean... of course I don't like it... but I'd still love too!" she quickly turned away from him, and walked away all embarrassed.

Christine was busy serving a bunch of drinks to a group of men, when Kacey came over and grabbed her arm, tugging hard. "Kacey, I'm busy doing something here!" Christine gasped.

"They'll live! But I won't!" Kacey groaned, whamming her forehead into Christine's shoulder.

"What did you do now?"

"I embarrassed myself! That's what I did!" Kacey pulled herself up and hit her face with her hand.

"It couldn't have been that bad." she said consolingly, setting the platter down so she wouldn't drop it.

"Try horrible, horrendous, bad, worse, negative! Give me more adjectives!"

"What did you do?"

"I turned into a blubbering idiot! He told me I didn't have to close down tonight, but I kept interjecting and saying stupid things!" she complained as she watched Tom from across the room. "Who the hell is that woman? And why is she talking to him?" Kacey suddenly demanded.

Christine's head turned to see a woman talking to him. "Probably just a customer…"

"She just touched his shoulder!" Kacey gasped. "No one touches his shoulder!" Kacey began to move forward.

Christine grabbed her arm. "Kacey! Stop turning into the green eyed monster! It's probably just a customer! And I don't think Tom wants to see one of his employees pummeling a prospective customer in his club!"

Kacey's shoulders sagged. "You're right..." she pulled a chocolate bar from her brassiere and began to open it. "I think I'm just going insane..." she took a bite of the milk chocolate bar. "I just really like him."

"Hey, is that a chocolate bar?" Christine demanded. Kacey nodded and Christine snatched it from her grasp. "I thought you were on a diet!" Kacey shook her head. "So you've been making me do those Pilates for nothing then?"

"Can I have my brown lover back?" Kacey sadly asked as reached for the chocolate bar, which Christine held at a high distance, her arm holding her back at arm's length.

"No! When you close down the club tonight, you're going to talk to him! Or so help me God Kacey..." she warned, throwing the chocolate bar in the nearest garbage, as they moved to the back.

"Fine..." Kacey sighed. "But it's your doorstep I'll be at bright and early when the sting of rejection takes over..." Kacey said dramatically.

"That's fine." Christine said nonchalantly as she saw a familiar person enter the club. She pushed Kacey forward and said, "Now get back to work. There are customers waiting."

"Yes, Boss." Kacey gave a mock solute and walked away, determined to not look fazed or interested in Tom, but independent. _Oh who the hell am I kidding?_

Christine went over to the back entrance and threw her arms around the man. "Raoul, I'm so glad you're here!" she pulled her face to look into his. "But I thought you only come on Fridays."

"For you, everyday is Friday." he pulled her into a deep kiss before she could say anything more.

From across the room, Kacey watched in pure envy of Christine and Raoul's relationship. She wished she could experience that with Tom... right now she didn't even want to face him. She had made an idiot of herself earlier! How could she ever trust her tongue around him again?

"I take it everything is going well for them." a voice commented from behind Kacey.

The voice or the words didn't even register in her mind. She was to busy staring at the kissing couple, wondering how she was going to close down the place alone with Tom...

"Hello? Earth to Kacey!" a hand waved in front of her face and she seemed to snap out of it.

"Wha?" Kacey said as she saw the flash of a hand. She turned slightly and gasped. "Tom? What are you doing here?"

"Well... I kinda work here." he grinned. He was wondering what was up with his usually top employee. She seemed distant and totally out of it as of late. He hoped it wasn't a personal or female problem... well actually, he decided female problems should be classified as personal as well.

"Oh... right! I knew that!" she forced a laugh and mentally kicked her self.

"So I take it those two lovebirds worked out any problems they were having...?" Tom sort of prodded.

"Yeah, pretty much." she grinned. "Those two could put Romeo and Juliet to shame." she looked around the dark room and tried to ask him casually -without showing an hint of great envy-, "so... who was the lady you were talking to earlier?" she looked away, as to not catch his eyes and have him discover more than she intended.

"Sarah?" Kacey nodded even though she had no clue who, the hell Sarah was. But she already felt hatred for this person. "Oh, she was just an old friend back from my high school. She's here visiting her sister, from Florida and was hoping I could show her around while she's here."

Kacey gave an "Oh," before trying to say nonchalantly, "as in a date...?" she looked down at her watch. "I think its closing time." she felt her cheeks flame up immediately, knowing this was a lame attempt at trying to sound completely uninterested.

"Why...?" Tom grinned. "You jealous?" he joked. He saw the look on Kacey's face and said quickly, "I don't know about date... she may consider it... I however..." he looked down at his watch too. "Wait, you're right. Gotta get these drunkards out of here." he winked at Kacey and patted her shoulder as he left.

Kacey wanted to scream at Tom to finish his thought, but he was already half way across the room. Her arms enclosed around her midriff and she huffed as she went to get a rag to start cleaning the tables.

"Alright, you two lovebirds, time to come up for air and leave." Tom joked as he patted Raoul's shoulder on his way over to the mic on the stage. He quickly ascended it and said, "Alright everyone, well that's it for the night! It was great having you all here and we hope to have you all come back soon!" Tom made his quick goodbyes and began shooing all the people out of the club.

"You ready to leave now?" Raoul asked as she came back. She nodded and he handed her, her winter coat, to which he gingerly helped her into to.

"Bye Kace!" Christine called to her best friend as she exited the building. "You better do it!"

Kacey just nodded her head distantly and kept scrubbing the tables.

After everyone had left, Tom came over to Kacey. "Whoa there! Any harder, and you'll take all the paint right off of there!" Tom laughed as he came up behind Kacey. Kacey just shrugged her shoulders and moved to the next table and began scrubbing hard. "Kace, are you alright?" she nodded her head. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No." Kacey spit.

"Kacey, talk to me. I may be your boss... but you know you can tell me anything. I want us to have that kind of friendship." Kacey felt herself burning when he said the word 'friendship'. "Is Jessica bugging you again?"

"I have to work." Kacey said succinctly, trying to sound mechanical so she wouldn't start crying. She had heard exactly what she hadn't wanted to hear. He said 'friendship'. She heard it right from the bull's mouth!

Tom touched her shoulders and Kacey felt a shiver run up her spine. He turned her till she faced him. "Come on, talk to me. I'm just as stubborn as you are, you know." he saw her eyebrow rise. "I won't let you leave or move till you tell me what's up."

"Maybe I don't want to leave." she defied.

Tom laughed in confusion. "Ok then... what do you want to do?" he asked.

Kacey leaned forward and kissed him soundly on the mouth.

xoxo

Lilliana sat stirring her cup of tea with a teaspoon in the Coffee Shop, exactly seven days after she had arrived home from Michigan, visiting one of her close friends. A sigh escaped her small lips as she pulled the teaspoon out of the cup and ever so gently, tapped it on the side of the cup and laid it down on the plate, the teacup sat on.

She hoped to go and visit her friend soon before she grew too ill to travel. She knew once Erik knew, he would not allow such things. She didn't plan to tell him anytime soon; his problems were much more important. She knew that if she wasn't the one to help him out of his mess, he would never fix them. The doctor and her illness could go to hell for all she cared.

She sat alone in the bustling little coffee joint, waiting for her guest to arrive. Erik was not with her and did not know she was expecting someone to join her.

_Erik's House. 12:43 Pm, Saturday, November 17, 2007._

_"Where are you going?" Erik asked as he came downstairs to the front entrance hall with his laptop and some folders over crammed with papers that were necessary to his business. He still hadn't gone and seen those people since his little outburst and was thinking of ways to get them to agree to his terms..._

_"To the Coffee Shop. Would you care to join me?" Lilliana asked, knowing fully well Erik would say no. He hated anything public. It was hard enough trying to get him to come down to the airport to get her..._

_"And sit amongst all those people?" he scoffed. He saw Lilliana raise her eyebrow. "Definitely not; I will not sit there and be a part of their mockery." he stated, using his free hand to wipe away a piece of lint on his fancy vest._

_Lilliana sighed, knowing it to be fruitless to argue otherwise. She wished Erik would come out of his shell and embrace what life had to offer him... but she knew his memories of people and public were tainted. The most he'd stand was his business meetings, his fancy restaurants and mass._

_"I just hope Monique can convince you that not all life is horrible." she stated, patting his chest slightly and kissing his cheek._

_"Mother, I told you that it's over. There's nothing you can do about it. It is what it is." and he walked away, not wanting to discuss it further._

_Lilliana looked at her son and knew that she wasn't going to just let it all go down like this. Her son had suffered his whole life... from his parents who never wanted him to her own children treating him quite horribly..._

_Speaking of which, she was dreading Christmas this year. Every year since Erik was eight, he had made an excuse to leave when they were there... this time he had promised to her he would be there... and she knew her children, grandchild and great grandchildren were visiting this Christmas. She was hoping Monique would be there because they were less likely to step out of line if they knew she was there._

_Anyways, she wanted Erik to at least have a wife... and Monique could fulfill this for him. At least then Erik would get to experience and enjoy one of life's greatest things._

_She sighed. If only Erik knew what she was about to do... _

"Lilliana?" a familiar voice questioned. "Oh it's so great to see you again!" Monique exclaimed, dropping her purse on the table and coming around to hug Lilliana. She had missed the dear woman... Lilliana was just like a mother to her.

Lilliana laughed as she hugged the dear girl she thought of as her daughter, back. "I've only been gone for three weeks... but I've missed you dearly too." she pulled back and patted Monique on the cheek.

Monique went and sat down across from Lilliana. "Waiter," she beckoned a young man over. "May I please have a latté with extra cream?" the waiter nodded and left. She turned back to Lilliana. "So how was Michigan? Tell me everything."

"Oh, it was fabulous." Lilliana said sweetly. "I actually brought you something from there..."

"You didn't have to do that." Monique insisted. But she smiled genuinely at Lilliana for the nice gesture.

Lilliana pulled her bag up from the ground and shuffled through it. After a few moments, she came up with a tiny silver box and handed it to Monique. Monique lifted the lid of the box to find a broach in there.

"It's beautiful." Monique whispered, gasping as her eyes scanned the broach. In the very middle of it, was a small red rose. Going around it, were green vines.

"Read the back." Lilliana said. She had intended to buy this broach for Monique when she had first seen it in a store that was closing down in Michigan... but now she was going to use it for different reasons.

"Love," Monique quoted the back, running her forefinger over the word.

"Erik had told me he wanted to get you something special... and when I saw this, I knew it was it. I showed it to him and he immediately agreed. He was going to give it to you the day before your wedding..." Lilliana lied, using whatever sounded plausible to her at that moment.

"Really?" Monique asked, looking up. There were unshed tears pooling in her eyes at the sweet gesture.

"Monique, Erik loves you. I have not the faintest idea of what happened between the two of you... but I know you two can patch it up if you really try." Lilliana explained, taking another sip of her tea. "Please… he's so miserable, he won't even talk about it with me."

Monique was about to say something when the waiter came back with her latté. He set it down in front of her and Monique quickly thanked the young man. She took a sip of it and wiped away the whipped cream stuck to her mouth.

After a few pauses, Monique finally spoke. "So this little rendez-vous is to get Erik and me together?" Monique lay out, wanting to get to the point.

"Of course not! I love visiting you!" Lilliana cut in. "But yes... I was hoping you two could work things out." she could see Monique's bemused expression. "Alright, fine, it is a ruse to get you two back together. But you two love each other and he's miserable!"

"I'm not too peachy either." Monique muttered.

"I know there's something going on between you... now, are you going to tell why you said no?" Lilliana said exasperated.

"And he didn't bother to tell you?" Monique questioned. She wasn't shocked in the least though. Erik never opened up to anyone. She'd be surprised if when he died, God actually did know anything about the recluse.

"No." Lilliana looked down at the liquid in her cup. "He never tells me anything. I might as well hire a private detector to tell me anything about my son's life." Lilliana sighed.

Monique sipped her latté. "I don't think him and I are ready for marriage, to tell you the truth." she said honestly, holding back her tears.

"Why?" Lilliana asked, looking at Monique. _She only said they weren't ready for marriage... that's not the same as breaking up._ Lilliana thought, relieved.

"He still needs to drop his final barrier." Lilliana looked at Monique as she pointed to her face, signifying the mask.

"He hasn't shown you?"

"He refuses to show me. I told him we couldn't get anywhere in life if he can't even trust me completely. Not to mention, the day after the proposal... he already had a girl's number on his arm!" Monique took the napkin and wiped her eyes.

"A girl's number?" Lilliana questioned, shocked. "That doesn't sound like Erik." but she saw Monique nod. "Are you sure it was a girl's number? Not some business statistics or information he needed at some point and had no paper...?"

"I know for a fact it was a girl's number. She wrote her name down and signed a heart after the pair of numbers. What does that look like to you?" now Monique was openly bawling.

Lilliana patted the girl's hand in thought and condolence. That was _definitely_not like Erik. One, he never spoke to women... except Monique and herself. Two, why would he write it on his arm? He was an extremely clean person, always fretting about ink poisoning or germs of some kind.

"Did Erik say anything to the effect about it?" Lilliana asked, trying to figure out what was going on in her son's complex mind.

"He said it was just a friend." Monique stated sadly.

"Do you have any reason to doubt Erik?" Lilliana asked gently.

"No... He's always been honest with me. But it's hard seeing a woman's name and numbers on his arm. It doesn't help that he never talks about his life... so I never know what to expect with him. I just don't think I can handle that kind of instability." Monique said truthfully.

"Look, I really care about you and Erik. Please promise me you won't give up on him quite yet. He's just not use to having a partner... his life has always been one of solitude. I promise I will talk to him." Lilliana pleaded.

"Alright, I'll give him one more chance." Monique said at last.

xoxo

Christine pulled back from Raoul from across the table, panting as she caught her breath. At the same moment, her cell phone began to ring. Christine gave him her look, pleading with him to let her answer the phone.

"Alright, but make it quick. I don't like sharing my girlfriend. And besides, the food will probably be arriving soon anyways." he smiled as she pulled out the phone and answered.

Right after Christine's shift had ended; Raoul had taken her out for a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. Well fancy enough to fit his budget. Christine had said she wouldn't mind if he took her to McDonalds... but he argued that she deserved the best.

"Hello?" Christine sang into the phone. She had read the name on the screen, and knew it was Kacey. She wanted to know all the gossip about her and Tom and closing down...

"Oh Christine! I'm on cloud nine!" Kacey said dreamily into the phone.

"Oh my God, spill the details girl!" Christine squealed, causing Raoul to cringe. He had a hard time dealing with Christine acting all girly and doing her girl squeals about boys with her friends.

"Ok, well first I was just cleaning the tables..."

"How romantic," Christine joked.

Kacey laughed from the other end, where she was sitting on her bed all excited. "He told me I couldn't leave unless I told him what was wrong and I purposely was all like, 'well what if I don't want to leave?' And he's all like, 'ok then, what do you want?' And I kissed him! I actually kissed him!" Kacey screamed.

Christine sprang to her feet from her chair and began to scream into the phone as Kacey sprang from the bed and began to scream. Raoul looked horrified as all the people watched Christine in the restaurant. He made a point to cough loudly.

"Ok, so what next?" Christine said more quietly as she sat back down again, all flushed in embarrassment.

"He kissed me back! It led to heavy petting on the club's stage!" Kacey exclaimed dreamily.

"You didn't...?" Christine gasped. On the club stage? Gross!

"Of course not; we came to our senses when the lighting suddenly turned off, and pulled away... but I would have if it had continued. The damn lighting!" Kacey groaned, wishing Tom hadn't set it up to turn off at a distinct time.

"Well...? What's going to happen now?" Christine demanded.

"I don't know. He drove me home when I told him I took the subway to work. He also walked me to my door and kissed my goodbye... I can't wait for work tomorrow!" Kacey sighed.

"Sleep with your boss... maybe you'll get a raise." Christine joked, earning a disturbed look from Raoul.

"Maybe; but I don't think I'd sleep with him for the money though." Kacey laughed. "Well I better get you back to Raoul before he goes insane."

Christine looked at her boyfriend. "Yes, I think he's growing a bid bored and restless, listening to me. Well I'll see you tomorrow... you have to tell me _everything._" Christine hung up her cell phone when Kacey promised, and turned back to Raoul, who was counting the tiles on the ceiling.

"Well?" Raoul asked, still counting the tiles.

"Kacey and Tom are together!" she squealed.

"Really?" Christine nodded as he sat up. "Finally! Now I don't have to listen to her go on and on about him. Even when she hadn't admitted to liking him, she still talked about him consistently!" he griped.

"You knew all along too?" Christine asked. He nodded.

"Who wouldn't?" he demanded. "Once when you left to the room, she called his house to 'hear his voice'. She didn't say anything to him though, and just hung up immediately."

"So that's how Tom got my number!" Christine laughed, shaking her head. "And that isn't that uncommon… I use to do it all the time to you."

His eyebrow rose. "Seriously? But we were always friends… you know you could have always told me anything."

"Well I know, but where is the fun in that?"

"Come here." Raoul beckoned, leaning across the table. He kissed her lips softly.

Christine pulled back smiling brightly.

"What?" he asked, grinning, extremely amused by her.

"It's just that, everything's... perfect." and she actually meant it.


	9. The Way Life Is

Last Chapter: Lilliana and Monique meet up against Erik's wishes, and Christine goes out with Raoul, where we soon discover that Kacey and Tom finally kissed.

A/N: Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews! :) It means a lot to me. I've been under a lot of stress lately... :( just got off of work and I have a lot of homework and it's nearly 10 30 pm, wow :P Guess we all know where I'm heading off to...

So please read and review, that's all I ask of you.

-EFH

xoxp

Chapter 9: The Way Life is.

"Erik, it's time to come out and get a breath." Lilliana complained, poking her head in Erik's elaborate office, looking around and sighing in disgust.

Erik was sitting behind a red knotless chestnut wood desk, in his fancy black leather chair. He had his black Dell Laptop set out before him, with millions of papers scattered on the desk, floors and garbage can. Lining the walls, were bookcases over crammed with novels, biographies and fancy instruction books. The windows and balcony door's window blinds were all shut; adding to his persona of a recluse.

"You really need to clean up in here." Lilliana commented as she walked into the small, messy room, when he did not comment, clucking her tongue along the way.

"I do not have time for simple, petty things like that." he stated, still staring at his laptop, not once removing his eyes, completely absorbed in his work, consumed with a desperate need to finish.

She sighed, coming over and picking up a book that was lying on the desk, half open and sort of dangling it. "Please come out for a bit. I promise you can come back in after and continue killing yourself with your work."

"I must finish this though. I have a deadline to get this proposal in and I cannot waste time on simple things, or I may just lose this chain of buildings to another company. And I refuse to the owner's terms. They will agree to mine." he ground out.

Lilliana sighed. "Erik, it's not the end of the world if you don't get this chain of buildings. You're already wealthy as it is... it won't kill you to not gain any more money. Besides, when do you plan to give any of your wealth to noble causes?" she asked, reading the title of the novel in her hands she had randomly picked up out of the chaos.

"I will eventually. But now, if you please, I have to finish up here." he continued, knowing fully well he wouldn't.\, but not in the mood to get into an argument about religion and money; it didn't matter what he said, he wouldn't win with her.

Truthfully, he wanted out of this hell hole of a room. But he wanted those chain of buildings... he wasn't exactly sure who he was trying to prove wrong here, but he felt he had to buy them.

"Since when did you begin reading anything by Oscar Wilde?" Lilliana asked. She was holding the novel, 'The Picture of Dorian Grey' in her right hand, looking at Erik in amusement.

"Since Monique gave me that novel." actually he had no clue how he came by that novel, he just found it one day in his office.

"Is it any good?" she asked, reading the back now.

"Its alright." he still stared at the screen, typing furiously away.

"Did you know Oscar Wilde died a Roman Catholic?" Lilliana asked again.

"No, I did not." he finally looked up at her. "Exactly why are you interrogating me? I have no particular reason why I'm reading it. I don't ask you why you read anything by Edward Bok."

Lilliana rolled her eyes. Erik could be... Erik; annoying and stubborn.

"I'll stop _interrogating_ you, as you so put it, if you leave your confines for at least a few hours." she turned the tables around. She had to have him out of there; someone was waiting for him…

Erik narrowed his eyes and looked up at her. "Why do you want me out of here so badly?"

Lilliana tried not to pause as she quickly came up with a reason. "Because... you're a growing man, and you need fresh air." _Well it sounds like a plausible reason... _she thought.

"So if I leave, you promise you won't bother me anymore and let me work?" he asked, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared up at her.

Lilliana nodded and said immediately, "here, let me get you your coat and gloves." she moved forward quickly and fetched them from the hall closet, in a great rush to kick him out the door.

He put them on and she shoved him out the door.

xoxo

Christine sighed and banged her head on the table she sat at, in frustration. She felt completely stressed as she worked as quickly as she could, to finish her paper due tomorrow, during her fifteen minute break at work.

"Hey kiddo, how's it going?" Tom asked, as he came and sat down across from his employee.

She looked up and began to freak. "I'm so over my head with school! I should have had this paper done the other day, but with Raoul, Kacey and everything going on... I just didn't have the time! My professor gave me till tomorrow to finish this, and now look at me!" she threw her arms up in the air. "I'm rushing to get it done on my breaks at work!" she whacked her head on the table again.

"Whoa, calm down Christine." he put a consoling hand on her shoulder. "You think life right now is hard? Life's going to get even harder after."

"Thanks for the reassurance Tom." Christine said sarcastically, rubbing her sore forehead as she looked back at him.

Right now she was having a hard time even looking at Tom. This was Tom, her boss; her boss who had made out with her best friend... on the stage no less. Picturing that was even embarrassing!

"Christine, I don't want to paint a happy picture for you... just for you to get out of university and get a cold dose of reality. Trust me, life isn't about writing essays or anything near that." he explained. "I know it seems daunting and even scary, but trust me, it's worth It." his eyes were watching Kacey.

"What made you get into the club scene then?" Christine asked, curious.

"My girlfriend, whom I married," he stated coldly, "told me she thought it was cool and told me how sexy I would be to own a club." he saw Christine's amused expression. "Another lesson; don't do something just because someone you _think_ you love, tells you, you should." he sighed, but chuckled.

Christine decided to tease him. "So if Kacey told you that becoming a clown, turns her on, would you do it?" she gave him her look.

Tom looked at her and moved his hand till it was whacking the top of her head lightly. "Write your paper; you only have ten minutes left."

Christine laughed, and then gave him a glare as he got up.

Her happiness and few minutes of relief bubbled away as she continued on her paper. She grew infuriated as her thoughts kept turning to Raoul and wondering what her boyfriend was doing. She longed for him to come visit her again... but then scolded herself. She knew he had a life and couldn't come and see her everyday. Besides, she had to get this paper done... and his presence would just distract her.

She groaned when she kept erasing the same line, unpleased with it. "Oh Great!" she yelled, throwing her pencil down when the eraser at the end broke and the metal scratched a hole into the lined paper.

She was getting no where! With a _wham_, she hit her head into the table and just spaced out.

After a few more moments had passed, she checked her watch for the umpteenth time; it was time to get back to work… which she wasn't so sure if she was relieved or not. She put her work in her bag and ditched it in Tom's office, where she knew it would be safe.

She came back out and began taking orders, all the mean while, listening to Kacey sing. She smiled as she knew who would be definitely listening... it was sweet, in a sickening kind of way.

As she continued to work, her thoughts drifted to Erik. She hadn't seen him in quite a bit. She wondered if everything was going ok between him and his girlfriend, Monique. She hoped he managed to patch it up like she had with Raoul. From what he had told her, she knew he deserved happiness.

xoxo

"What are you doing here?" he growled as he saw Monique standing at the front entrance, waiting for him.

Monique narrowed her eyes and huffed, knowing that annoyed Erik to no ends. "I'm waiting for you!" she threw her arms up. "Why do you always have to be so negative? I just want to work this out with you! I figured that after all the years we've been together; you wouldn't want it to end like this either!"

Erik watched her turn away from him and could see her shoulders shake. He knew she was going to cry. When Christine had visited him that morning that was what happened before she had started crying… and women all worked the same, right?

_Right now is not the time to be thinking about Christine._ He scolded himself.

"Monique..." he said helplessly. He felt annoyed with himself... he was getting another chance, and already he was blowing it! Why was he pushing her away? He knew he loved her.

"Just forget it Erik. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be this way." she stated sadly, shaking her head, prepared to hold her head high and march right on out of there before breaking down. At least it would look like he had no impact on her…

"Monique," he called, "wait." his hand went out to reach her arm, but she was already moving away. "Don't go!"

She paused slightly. He thought she was going to burst into tears, when very softly, she asked, "why?" she turned and looked him in the eyes. "Why don't you want me to go Erik?" her lips quivered. "Do you still love me?"

Erik's mouth fell open in shock. He moved in his few fast strides, and was pulling her into his embrace. He held her tightly against him, as she began to cry. He buried his face the blackness of her hair, before whispering, "How can you say that? Of course I love you."

She raised her head, till their eyes met, "Really?"

He nodded, letting the few of his tears escape. He had never realized just how passionate and wonderful it felt, to have a woman in your arms. A woman who loved you and let you stroke her and fight her demons as she cried, longing for you to fix everything.

"I love you too." she said quietly, after her crying had ceased and she became aware of reality again.

Erik pulled away arms length and said softly, "I just want to be with you Monique." he pushed a stray hair out of her eye. "I want to be able to take care of you and wake up everyday with you next to Me." he spoke, feeling his heart clench.

"And I you, Erik." he gave her a confusing look. "But before you say it, I want to know that you trust me fully."

"I do -"

"The mask Erik." she stated firmly, before echoing, "The mask."

His breathing hitched once more and he juddered ever so slightly, shocked. "I... I can't." he tore away from her sight, facing his back to her.

"Why?" she asked gently, coming up behind him and placing her right cheek on his back. She then moved her slim arms so that they were wrapped around his waist -as much as they could-, hugging him to her body.

"I just can't." he whispered.

Monique let go of him and moved herself till she was planted in front of him. "Erik, I love you so much... I want you to be able to trust me fully. I promise I won't care." she begged as her arms went out and held his shoulders at arms length.

"Trust me when I tell you its horrible." he stated, talking about his face for the first time with her. The only other woman who wasn't his mother, that he had ever acknowledged his face to, was Christine.

"I don't care." she insisted. "I love you!" she saw the terror that lit up in his eyes. "Erik, I won't make you show me unless you want me to..." she said more slowly.

"Truly?" he asked, shocked.

She held her hand up. "You didn't let me finish." she cupped his face. "I won't make you show me now... but if you ever want something more, you're going to have to one day. I'll wait for you as long as I can Erik, but I need to let you know, I won't wait forever."

Erik felt his hopes die. She wouldn't wait forever.

Erik took her into his arms and Monique said nothing as she felt his hot tears hitting her neck.

Lilliana looked at the sight of the two, from the window inside. She took a tissue and wiped her eyes at the beautiful sight of the two. She didn't know that Monique and Erik had an agreement... she was just glad that the two had managed to work out their problem enough to be together.

She sighed as she walked away, hoping that the two would marry soon. Her time on Earth was slowly beginning to run out... the sand grains of time were slowly dispersing to their doom…

"Erik, please promise me though, that you'll be completely honest and open with me." Monique said to Erik as she pulled from his embrace. "When I saw that girl's name and number on your arm... I've never felt so hurt and betrayed before."

"Monique that was just a friend." he bent in and kissed her on the lips gently. "But it's nice to know that even you can be jealous at times." he chuckled.

Monique just smiled and lay her head down on his shoulder, in taking the smell of his cologne.

It was nice to be home again.

xoxo

Christine bit her lip as she watched Kacey and Tom sneak in a kiss every time they could. She was happy for her best friend... but right now she wished Raoul could just hold her.

"Christine!" Kacey exclaimed, coming up behind Christine who was carrying a plate full of dishes.

"What?" she snapped. A cup fell off the plate and smashed on the ground. "Great. Thanks." she bent over and picked up the broken shards. "Go get me a broom and a wet rag." she insisted.

"Sorry." Kacey apologized as she went to fetch the items.

Christine continued to huff and gripe to herself as she picked up the broken glass, till Kacey came back. She took the broom from her friend's hands, and began to sweep them into a pan. Kacey took the pan of broken shards, to the garbage while Christine used the wet rag to wipe the floor for any small missing shards. After, she took the rag to the sink in the kitchen and squeezed it in the water.

"I'm sorry Christine." Kacey said softly as she came up behind Christine.

"It's ok... It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have freaked out at you back there." Christine apologized back, feeling her pulse and annoyance diminish.

Kacey placed one of her hands on Christine's wrist and asked her quietly, "so are you going to tell me what's really bothering you? I thought you were happy with Raoul being back in your life..."

Christine sighed. "It's not Raoul. I'm glad everything's well between us... It's just, it's November twenty-ninth."

"Oh Christine, I'm so sorry!" Kacey pulled her best friend in a hug. "And for a moment there, I really thought it was the paper that was bugging you."

The two just hugged as Christine tried to even her breathing from her short gasps of sobs, until Tom walked in the room. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked quickly, backing out of the room, not liking handling sobbing women of any sort. It was awkward…

Kacey -who was facing Tom-, mouthed the words, 'it's the anniversary of her father's death'. She wasn't quite sure if he got that... but from the quick nod he gave and sympathetic look he gave her, she was most positive.

"I'm sorry... I should be a bit more in control of my feelings." Christine said finally, as she let go of her friend, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "I've just been… been,"

"It's ok, I understand." she said finally, taking a tissue from the pocket on her skirt, and handing it to Christine. "Tell you what," Kacey nodded in Tom's direction, "since I am dating your boss... I think I can snag the rest of the evening off for you. You just go to your father's grave and finish that paper, ok?"

"I couldn't Kacey…" Christine protested, but still liking that prospect.

"No, just do it Christine." Kacey encouraged. "This is a special night; you deserve to be with your father, not working."

"You're the best Kace." Christine said sincerely as she hugged her best friend again.

"I know. And don't you ever doubt it." Kacey laughed.

xoxo

With a quick stop at a florist shop, Christine was already at her father's cemetery. She gingerly laid down the dark crimson roses down on her father's grave in mourning.

She sighed as she had known this day was coming... but she had pushed it out of her mind, trying hard to concentrate on school and work. Not to mention all that had been going on with Raoul and meeting her new friend, Erik.

An image of her masked friend flashed through her mind. She wondered how he was holding up. From what she had scene of him, he seemed like the type to push down any feelings or sadness he had and just let it fester inside him.

"I've almost accomplished my dreams... Daddy." she said softly.

_"You can do anything you want Christine, sweetheart. The world is in the palm of your hand. Just promise me you'll never give up on your dreams. Promise me you'll dream on."_

"... and I didn't." she whispered, recalling her father's most used sentence as she was a child. "I have dreamt, and I still will… I promise."

Her gaze landed on a crow that wasn't to far off. It was flying in her direction, and suddenly dropped it self till it was sitting on her father's gravestone, but a few feet away.

"What do you want?" she asked it. "You've already taken my father away from me... who are you going to take next? My best friend? My boyfriend? Well I won't let you!" she snarled, realizing it was just a crow she was yelling at, but not caring.

The crow just began to caw.

A few tears fell from her eyes as she growled, "stop laughing!" she took out a tube of lipstick from her purse and threw it at the confounded bird. The creature just flew off in outrage, cawing even louder.

"I hate you!" she screamed at no one. Her words fell on deaf ears though. "I hate you..."

She laid her head on her arms on top of the grave stone and began to sob mercilessly.

_"Sing with me, sing for the years,_

_Sing for the laughter, and sing for the tears._

_Sing with me, if it's just for today._

_And maybe tomorrow, the good Lord with take you away."_

"Why did you like that song so much?" Christine asked the grave, recalling a song her father used to love, as she traced her index finger along the engraving:

_Charles Daaé, a beloved Husband and Father._

_Born: May 4, 1956 - Died: Nov 29, 1992_

"I want to dream on... but it's hard when you feel like you're all alone in this world." Christine cried out. "Why did you have to leave me? I was only eleven for Christ's sakes!" she screamed, picking up a pebble on the grave and throwing it as hard as she could, "Only eleven!"

_"And maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away."_


	10. Dream On

A/N: Hi everyone :) Here's chapter 10 :P The song reference in here is 'Dream On' by AeroSmith. It's an awesome song... I suggest you go listen to it :D

Please read and review, that's all I ask of you! :)(:

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 10: Dream On.

_Friday November 30, 07._

Erik pulled Monique closer to his body as the two cuddled on the leather couch, down in his den, watching a movie. He leaned inwards, placing his good cheek, into her hair. He just breathed, inhaling in her sweet scent, feeling happy and relieved for once, that everything was going his way.

The two were watching 'The Titanic', under Monique's request. At first he argued, not wanting to watch a movie where they knew the ending… and an ending that wasn't even something memorable.

_"What is the point in watching a movie, when you know it will just end horribly?" he demanded._

_"Because it's still a love movie!" she argued._

_"Yes, but the man just ends up dieing in the end anyways!"_

_"Oh Erik, just watch the movie with her already!" Lilliana griped, coming into the living room with a tray filled with coffee and desserts. "Stop being a typical man and watch the movie! It's still a sweet romance…" _

_"This is not your discussion here!" Erik growled, narrowing his eyes at her and folding his arms in a huff. "And don't make such sexist comments Lilliana." He put lots of emphasis on her name, causing Monique to chuckle at their little argument._

_Lilliana set down the tray of goodies in front of them, and when she pulled back, her and Monique caught eyes. A smiled began to form on their faces, as they looked at Erik, then the two both burst out in laughter. He glared at them and was about to demand why they were laughing, when they began to laugh even harder._

_"I really do not see what is so funny." he scoffed, glaring at the two._

_He was hit though, with the feeling of familiarity. He seemed to recall Christine laughing in the exact same location to something of the same effect... the shoehorn. _

_"J-just t-the way y-you stand angrily!" Monique laughed._

"I love you Monique." Erik said softly, into her hair.

Monique looked up into his eyes, a twinkle lighting in her brown orbs. She snuggled closer to him in his embrace and said honestly, "I love you too, Erik." she smiled as the movie changed to one of her favourite scenes; where Jack stood at the front of the ship holding Rose, just gazing out on the seas and the orange creamy skies. Even in their silence, they were professing their love for each other… she wished she could have that with Erik.

The two just stayed in that position, letting reality escape them... along with the movie... to which they had already stopped paying attention to.

"How's work been? Lilliana mentioned you were trying to buy a chain of stores." Monique asked, still cuddling with him.

Erik looked down at her and said quickly, "oh, it's fine."

She smiled, believing him. "Well? Did you buy them?" she asked.

"Oh, yes." he lied. _I'm doing it again._ He thought to himself; _lieing about my life._ But for some reason, he just felt he couldn't open up about his life... not even to Monique or Lilliana. Christine was the only exception he had ever made... and even then, he did not know why.

"That's good." she said softly, stroking his chest with her hand.

She smiled at him trustingly. She was going to try her hardest to make this work.

xoxo

Christine fished out her keys from the deep pocket of her winter coat. Fumbling about, she opened the door and trudged inside her dark apartment. Shutting the door behind her, she took off her coat and slung it over her couch and threw her keys down on the table. She kicked her shoes into one corner and went into her bedroom, to change from her work attire.

"Hey Mr.Jube." Christine sighed, greeting the cat that was sleeping in her mass of clothing on her bed.

The cat looked up with tired eyes and then closed them again, completely ignoring her.

"Fine, be that way." She scoffed at the lazy cat that flipped himself to his other side away from her, and placed his paws over his eyes, ignoring her. She made sure that when she took off her bra, she threw it on top of him.

Christine pulled from her closet, a pair of sweats, and an oversized shirt. She put them on and then closed the blinds in her apartment, hating and cursing daylight savings right now.

"So you get one hour of sleep, who cares?" she grumbled. "At least you get daylight for more than a few hours."

She went back into the main room, and dug around her bag, till she found her paper that had millions of chicken scratches and cross outs and had been erased a thousand times. She sat down at the small dining table in the kitchen and was determined to finish the paper. She had spent far too long at her father's grave... and doing what; yelling at a crow. _How mature._ She thought to herself.

5:05 PM rolled by on the clock on the wall across from her, and she just chewed the end of her pencil, trying to organize her thoughts enough, to get the paper finished.

5:21 PM: Christine began to dig through the fridge for any type of food. All she found was a can of coke and ginger ale, a two litre jug of skim milk, a tube of lipstick she had been searching for and a bucket of cottage cheese way past its expiry date. She groaned as she stood up, and threw out the cottage cheese, knowing she should not be eating, but finishing her damn paper.

5:37 PM: She was back to sitting at the table. Now she was just doodling on the pieces of paper she had laid out. She drew Erik for some reason…

5:59 PM: She was wondering about Raoul... where was he right now? What was he doing? _Can't be thinking of him!_ Christine's thoughts screamed at her. _I. Need. To. Work. _

6:09 PM: Now Erik was appearing on her mind... how was his life in comparison to hers right now? What had happened with him and his girlfriend? Were the two back together? Would he want to wallow with her anytime soon?

6:14 PM: She was hitting her head repeatedly on the table.

Finally, Christine gave up and stood up. She paced the length of her apartment for about twenty minutes, till she decided she needed someone to talk to. She thought of Kacey first, but realized she would still be at work. And after... well she would be with Tom most likely.

There was her Aunt Grace, but she didn't want to sound like she couldn't handle life... or her Aunt would tell her again how she should have never moved out; a lecture Christine was not in the mood for.

She then thought of Raoul again, and decided to call him. _He's always free for me._ She thought happily to herself.

After a few ringing, he picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Raoul," she said tentively.

"Oh hey, is something wrong?" he asked, cautiously. She didn't normally call him out of the blue unless she had something on her mind. Even then, she always called his home phone, never his cell phone, and waited till it was before she went to bed.

"No... Why would you think something is wrong?" she asked, her brows knitting in confusion.

"You just don't call me when you're at work. And well, it's the thirtieth..." he responded, trying to be careful with his words. "And we all know what day yesterday was…" he knew he was the only real one who knew about her dark day this one day a year, that came like clockwork.

That's right! Christine had totally forgotten that she was still technically supposed to be at work... "Tom let me go early to visit daddy. As well as to finish the paper from hell." she sighed.

Raoul chuckled a bit. "The joys of university life."

Christine chuckled as well, despite her sadness. But her ears picked up on the sound of other cars and the passing of roads. "Where are you right now?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm on the way to the _clinic_." she could trace distress in his voice from that one word. "You know..." he trailed off, not really wanting to say it aloud... for obvious reasons.

Christine quickly cut in, saving him from having to continue having to speak... much to his relief. "That's nice. Did you buy her another puzzle?" Christine asked, trying to sound concerned. Honestly though, her mind couldn't have been a thousand more miles away.

"Yeah. I bought the two thousand and five hundred pieces one, this time. She likes the hard ones." he responded. "This will take her awhile till the next time I visit anyways."

"What type?" she asked, making conversation.

"Um, it's a scenic view of the mountaintops. I think scenery is far more challenging." he explained.

Christine smiled, even though she knew Raoul could not see. Every month... about the exact same time, Raoul went to the clinic to visit his mother. Clara, his mother, had been in a sanitarium since he was just a little boy. But his father had raised him to still love her, despite her problems. So every month since she was put into the clinic, as he liked it to be called, (sanitarium sounds far worse in his opinion) he and his father would bring her a puzzle. Despite being insane, she still managed to put puzzles together, that being her favourite thing to do, and somewhat carry on a conversation.

The image of Clara's room, flashed before her mind. It was quite a dull looking room... to be honest. _It'd make me go insane, being stuck in that room everyday for years..._ Christine thought dryly. She had only visited there a few times. The more recent visit, her walls were plastered with all the puzzles she had finished; even some being plastered to the ceilings... because they had run out of room on the walls.

"Do you have your scissors, rubber cement, tacks and cardboard?" Christine asked.

As Raoul pulled into the parking lot, he pulled his brown leather bag onto his lap and said, "Check. I promised her last time I visited, that I would glue and plaster on the wall, all her puzzles from previous."

"Sounds nice, she'll be really happy. Tell her I said hi, ok?" Christine spoke, trying to sound cheerful.

He paused momentarily. "Are you sure you'll be ok Christine? If you want, I can drop by after..."

"No!" Christine interjected, louder than she had intended. "I mean no, you enjoy your time with your mom... you only get to see her once a month." Christine explained as she sat down at her dining table. "I'll be fine." she reassured.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." she confirmed.

She quickly hung up the phone before he could object further, and sighed in misery. She looked at her paper that had only a few lines of her writing... and every time she looked at her textbooks for any ideas, she would read and re-read the same paragraph. The words just wouldn't stick or commit to memory...

She glared at the clock on the wall from across her, as she realized it had only been a minute after she had called Raoul...

She picked up the phone again after a few moments, and dialed a number. As it rang, she held her breath.

"Hello?" asked an elderly lady's voice from the other end.

At first Christine thought maybe she had the wrong number... but then she quickly recalled Erik mentioning that his mother lived with him. She tried to sound polite immediately. "Hi, is Erik home?" she felt like such a kid when she asked that.

Lilliana looked into the other room from where she stood, and could see Erik and Monique cuddling and joking around. And not wanting to interrupt them, she said quickly, "oh, he is busy at this current moment. But I'm sure if you call back later, he'll be free to talk to you. Would you like me to tell him that you called...?" Lilliana questioned.

Christine felt her heart sink, wanting to talk to someone extremely badly... someone who didn't have a life. She knew that was cruel, but she didn't care. "No thank you. This isn't a formal call... I can call back later... and you don't have to tell him I called." she finished.

As Lilliana said goodbye though, Christine heard Erik's laugh ring out across the phone, and the sound of a young female laugh as well. Then she heard the woman shriek Erik's name and giggle some more.

_I guess he's made up with his girlfriend..._ Christine thought sadly. She stared at her hands for a second, and realized that she was upset about this!_ Why would I feel upset about this? I want him to be happy! I guess I want him to be miserable like me... and that is precisely why they say misery loves company._

She threw her head back in annoyance and stomped her feet. But her foot went too far, and she was crying out as she stubbed her baby toe on the metal bar that held the plastic table up.

She got up, thinking this definitely wasn't her day... and grabbed the skim milk and drank it straight from its container, not bothering to get a cup.

"I guess misery loves company." she stated, after she had put the jug away and wiped away her milk mustache. "I'm no exception to that."

She began to pace the kitchen in thought. For some reason Erik was stuck in her thoughts... and she just did not know why! He was a friend! And she was glad that he was back with his girlfriend... from what she had learned from him, she wanted him to have happiness... and knew he deserved it.

Christine picked up the small remote to the stereo, and turned it on. She grimaced as a yucky love song came on, and changed it. She listened as a sad melody began to play.

_Every time I look in the mirror,_

_All these lines and a face gettin' clearer,_

_The past is gone._

_It went by like dust to dawn._

_Isn't that the way?_

_Everybody's got their dues in life to pay..._

Christine's face contorted as she tried to place the song in her mind. She recognized the sad melody and rhythm from some where...

"Why is it that all the sad songs come on this station every time I feel like buying a gun from Wal-Mart?" she thought aloud to herself.

_I know what nobody knows._

_Where it comes and where it goes._

_I know it's everybody's sin._

_You got to lose to know how to win._

"If that's your answer," she asked aloud, "to life, then how come I'm always losing?" she shook her head at herself. "Dear God, I'm talking to the lyrics of a stupid song!" she griped, frustrated.

_Half my life,_

_Is in books written pages,_

_Live and learn, from fools and from sages._

_You know it's true,_

_All things come back to you._

She glared at the stereo, hatred seething from her because of the words.

_Sing with me, sing for the years,_

_sing for the laughter, sing for the tears._

_sing with me, if it's just for today._

_Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away._

"Dream on." Christine whispered. She suddenly knew where this song came from and why it was so familiar to her! "This was my father's favourite song..." she gasped, recalling the lyrics in the graveyard.

She paused once more, to listen to the rest of it.

_Dream on, dream on, dream on,_

_dream yourself a dream come true._

_Dream on, dream on, dream on,_

_dream until your dream come true._

_Dream on, dream on, dream on._

Christine smiled for real, for the first time today. It was almost as if she was meant to hear this song... on this exact day, at this exact moment in time. And she was glad... for the first time that day; she felt a calm spread over her.

She finally understood, after all these years, why her dad loved that song.

_Dream until your dreams come true._

_"You can do anything you want Christine, sweetheart. The world is in the palm of your hand. Just promise me you'll never give up on your dreams. Promise me you'll dream on."_

She sat herself back down again and before she began to write her paper, she sang the final verse with the lead singer. She could now attest that this was her favourite song too.

"Maybe I should play the stereo more often..." she murmured as she began writing her paper.

xoxo

Lilliana hung up the phone, a bit disgruntled. Who was the young woman that had just called? She suddenly wished the woman had given her a name. And now she was curious what Erik was doing and how he knew this girl.

She peered around the corner at the couple. She was so overfilled with joy, that Erik and Monique had managed to work out their problems... but she recalled Monique mentioning a girl's name written on Erik's arm, with a set of numbers and a heart.

"... _not to mention, the day after the proposal... he already had a girl's number on his arm!" Monique took the napkin and wiped her eyes._

Lilliana did not recall Erik ever recieving any kind of attention from others, unless it was Monique, herself or a business call. But this girl on the phone... she had sounded... _sad_. Desperate even. And she sounded like she couldn't even be a day older than twenty eight. Twenty even!

"That's just not like Erik." Lilliana murmured to herself.


	11. Heated Greetings

A/N: Feels like forever... sorry. But here it is now... one of my chapters :D

Oh God... finals and provincials next week... Ack. lol.

Ok so please read and review, that's truly all I ask of you!

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 11: Heated Greetings.

Lilliana was exasperated! She couldn't figure out who this girl that called Erik previously, was. I mean she had a hunch as to who it could be... but that was it. She wanted someone to just tell her already! Put her out of her misery! Everytime she asked the girl, the girl would just say goodbye and hang up.

... so she tried plan B; ask Erik if he was expecting any calls... if he chatted with any other girls besides Monique... he had just looked at her strangely and told her 'no', then continued his work.

All of a sudden, the phone began it's familiar cries. It began _ringing_.

Lilliana looked at it from across the room, just staring at the contraption. She hoped it wasn't that girl... she couldn't have anyone ruining Erik's life. Erik belonged to Monique, and vice versa. And _no one,_ absolutey no one, was going to ruin that for them. Well, not if Lilliana had anything to do with it.

She just wouldn't tell Erik she called... it's not like Erik ever answered the phone anyways...

"Are you going to answer the phone?" Erik called from his office.

Lilliana came out of her daze as she realized that she had yet to answer the phone. She quickly moved forward and picked the phone up off of its cradle. "Hello?" she said politely.

"Hi, is Erik home?" the familiar girl's voice asked for the umpteenth time that week.

"I'm sorry, he is _currently_ out with his _girlfriend_, soon to be _fiancée_." Lilliana hissed, grinding out each word. "He _won't _be home anytime soon, because him and his _fiancée_, are having a grand ol' time! But please, may I ask your _name,_ so I can carry it on to Erik?"

The girl's voice seemed to hesitate... "oh, no, that's alright, I'll try calling again some other time. Thank you." and there was a click, signaling that the line was disconnected now.

Lilliana slammed the phone back down in its cradle. This only made her even _more_ determined to figure out who this woman was and why she dared try and call Erik. _Probably some horrible business woman who wants my poor son for his money!_ Her thoughts screamed in anger.

"Well I won't let her ruin Monique's and his life." Lilliana growled to herself.

"Who was that?" Erik called again from his office.

Lilliana looked up and quickly said, "just those telemarketers again!"

There was a moments pause, when Erik yelled, "again? This is what, the fiftieth time this blasted week? I'm going to have to give these companies a call soon... you'd think those fools would give up by now!"

Lilliana laughed slightly, and said back, "yeah... one would think."

Suddenly the phone began to ring again, and Lilliana snatched up the phone. "Hello?" she practically shouted into the phone.

"Lilliana?" the male voice asked.

"Oh, John, it's just you!" Lilliana laughed slightly when she heard the familiar voice of her younger brother, John.

John laughed from the other side of the line. "And who else were you expecting? So, is something wrong? You seemed pretty upset when you answered the phone just now..." he commented, concerned.

"Oh nothing really... just dealing with a problem at hand." she responded lightly as her finger twisted the cord around it.

"Problem?"

"Just... a young woman keeps calling, asking for Erik." she replied honestly... figuring it would do her well to share her problem with someone else.

"Isn't that a good thing?" he asked. "I'm no genius... but Erik isn't exactly the best in that department... so wouldn't it be good that a woman is trying to interact with him?" John questioned slowly.

"No! No, it is not a good thing!" Lilliana yelled. "He is in love with Monique... and I won't have some hussy come along and ruin everything for him! It was hard enough getting him to even interact with Monique when he first met her... and now that he is comfortable with her and the two are in love, I won't let a money wanting prostitute ruin everything!"

While she had been ranting, she had managed to pick up and egg and squeezed it so hard, the fragments of the shell fell to the ground and the yoke was oozing all over her hand. She griped as she washed her hand and threw away the wasted defenseless egg.

"Calm down Lilliana!" John immediately said. "How do you know she is a hussy or a prostitute as you now deemed her to be? She could very well be one of Erik's friends..."

"Oh come on John! You and I both know that probably isn't the case. Erik is deformed and wealthy, what else could she possibly want from him? Sex? That's just so -"

"unlikely?" Erik cut in as he stepped fully into the kitchen. "Why, because I'm a beast? A hideous monster no girl could possibly ever love?"

Lilliana felt the colour drain from her face. "No Erik, I d..didn't mean -"

He held his hand up and said quickly, "I know very well what you meant _Lilliana._ I just didn't think you'd have to announce it to the world or blantantly tell everyone. Although I'm utmost positive the world already knows it."

"Erik please -" Lilliana tried.

"If you may, I'll be going back to work. Do not disturb me." he growled dangerously.

"Hello?" John asked from the other end when he heard Lilliana and Erik talking.

"Please Erik, I'm sorry! Please -"

"I don't need your apologies, nor your pity Lilliana. I know very well what is wrong with me... I just didn't think Catholics talked about and announced other people's problems to the world." Erik said calmly.

"Just let me explain what I meant -"

"Hello?" John asked.

"Explanations are not needed Lilliana... remember, judge not, lest ye be judged." he spoke, purpously quoted the scriptures... knowing fully well that'd upset her further more.

Lilliana was silent as she watched Erik slam the office door behind him. She heard the distinct sound of the handle being locked and him shuffeling around inside the room.

"Hello?" John asked again.

Lilliana hung the phone up and started to sob.

xoxo

Lilliana sat on one of the armchairs across from Erik's office. She was waiting for him to leave. She knew he would have to eventually... he'd have to use the washroom or get hungry some time. He'd already been in there for now, four hours.

_Four damn hours._ She thought annoyed. She was mentally kicking herself for what she had said. She should have been more discreet... or better yet, never have talked about it with John.

Speaking of which, she still hadn't called him back after she so rudely hung up on him... _this isn't going exactly how I wanted it to. Now I've just given Erik reason not to trust me... and I was the only one he could trust before. Who will he trust now? It's quite obvious he doesn't even trust Monique..._

Lilliana put her face into her hands in dispair and in deep thought. She wanted to go back and erase everything that had been said and done.

She bolted straight up at the sound of a door being opened. Her eyes were immediately drawn to Erik's office door, but it was still shut. Instead... the sound of the door being opened was the front door...?

"Erik?" the voice called through the house. "Erik?"

Lilliana sat still, frozen, not sure what to do. That voice seemed oddly familiar...

"You really need to lock your door more often..." the sound of keys being dropped on a desk rang out. "And don't tell me that I can't be a criminal... because I can."

Lilliana squinted her eyes and furrowed her brow at the girl's weird choice of words.

"And I hope you don't mind I suddenly dropped by... I just haven't been able to reach you lately. I'm guessing that you're in your office doing... well, whatever it is you do. But I think you need a break." she called through the house.

Lilliana continued to stay perched on her chair as the voice and the footsteps got closer.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Christine said flustered, as she came into the hall and saw Lilliana sitting there. Now she felt all embarassed about calling through the house...

Lilliana looked the young girl over. _She doesn't look like a prostitute._ She thought as she noticed that the girl wasn't at all dressed in meager prostitute garb. The girl was wearing a pair of tight black jeans, a white plush turtleneck and an ice blue winter vest over it. A scarf that matched her outfit, hung around her neck as well. And to top it off, some leather female gloves, and a pair of boots.

What struck her though, was the girl's hair and face. Her face was so soft and alabastair like... with pouty pink full lips. And her eyes, well they were the most intriguing shade of blue... what she decided she liked most though, was the girl's hair; it was fairly long, hanging down her back in the mass of curls that it was. Not to mention, how it hung around her heart shaped face, almost looking like it was framing a picture.

_Well fine, so she isn't a prostitute... but she probably is a business executive harassing him for more money. When will they learn? She's just another devil in disguise. I should have know that businesses would use all men's weaknesses; pretty girls. Those bastards! _

Lilliana felt inclined to dislike this girl that she knew nothing about. This girl who showed up out of the middle of nowhere, about to ruin Erik and Monique's relationship. Indeed, she would have to stop this before it went any further...

"May I help you?" Lilliana practically hissed.

Christine felt uncomfortable as she back away slightly, pulling her gloves off and squeezing them tightly. She could hear the icy overtone in the older woman's voice... "I'm just looking for Erik Devereux. Do you know if he is currently home?" she asked timidly.

"No, as a matter of fact, he is not. He's out with his girlfriend." she glared at the young woman before her.

"Oh, well t..thank you. It was nice meeting you -" Christine was cut off as the door she stood next to, was thrown open, revealing Erik.

She already could tell, that this woman was not to fond of her... but decided not to comment on anything, as she felt she was never more relieved in her life to see the masked man!

"What is all this ruckus?" Erik demanded, only to spot Christine standing not to far off from him. "Christine? What are you doing here?" he asked immediately, feeling kind of strange and embarassed all at once.

"Christine?" Lilliana questioned.

So this was Christine! The Christine that Monique had mentioned! The one who had written her name and numbers on Erik's arm... _I wonder what her motives are right now besides ruining a relationship._

Erik turned and narrowed his eyes at his mother, still hurt and upset with her from earlier.

"I thought I'd drop by and visit. As I haven't seen you lately..." Christine said quietly, looking down at the floor and feeling so out of place. She could feel her cheeks turning red. "I thought... maybe you might like to get a coffee with me and we can catch up. I've got a lot to tell you about school..." she trailed off, blushing even more furociously.

Erik looked at her, then Lilliana, who was glaring at Christine. Then he looked back at Christine and for the first time that day, felt happy. He just wanted out of this home that didn't feel like a sanctuary anymore... "Yeah, that'd be great." he smiled at her. "Let me just get my coat and we'll be off." he stated, glaring at his mother.

"Ok, but hurry up!" Christine laughed, returning to her normal demeaner. "Don't be a snail... there's this new coffee I want you to try... I think you'll really like it! Oh, and Mr.Jube has been really missing you!" she laughed.

Lilliana watched, put off by her quirky and fresh attitude. She felt incensed by the simple fact that Erik appeared to have another life he had _yet_ to mention to her. How on Earth had he met Christine? And who in God's name was Mr.Jube? What made matters worse, was Erik kept talking to Christine like she wasn't even there... and kept glaring at her.

Erik grabbed his trench coat and came back in the room, seeing that Christine was still rooted to the same spot she stood before. She appeared to be counting something. "What are you counting?" he asked, stepping fully towards her.

"The tiles in your kitchen. How did you know I was counting something?" she asked.

"Your mouth moves along with the numbers." he pointed out.

Christine laughed and sighed as they left the house. "True business man... notice all the details."

Lilliana got up and watched from the window, as Erik and Christine got into her car... some cheap Buick. She watched as the two pulled out and drove away. She sighed, and decided she wasn't going to tell Monique any of this.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Erik."

xoxo

"So what do I owe this pleasure?" Erik grinned, looking over at Christine.

Despite the cold December air, Erik opened the window, just intaking the fresh air. He had to say, he was glad she had shown up... he had never wanted out of that house more than ever, than that moment. He most likely would have gone to Monique's place... had she been home.

Once again, he was reminded of _who_ Monique was with. At this current moment, she was at some business meeting in Queens... with Adrian. Adrian was Monique's boss, who in the past, had shown an interest in her... Erik knew of this, and use to grow angry, knowing that everytime the two were alone, he was obviously flirting with her.

For once, he could say he wasn't upset at all. _But only because I'm with the opposite gender myself._ He thought happily. _Even if she's not exactly interested in me in that way... and we're only friends. Oh well, Monique does not know of that..._

Christine looked over at him from the drivers seat and grinned back. "Kidnapping you... what does it look like?"

Erik laughed and pretended to play along with her playful banter. "Oh please, have mercy on me!"

She looked him up and down. "I think you're worth at least a quarter of a million in ransom money. I just have to get you to my secret hideout... tie you up, send a letter to your mother, and play the stupid villian who gives away all thier ploys before they even happen." she giggled.

Erik shook his head, feeling content for the first time this day. "I don't think I'm worth that much..." he looked out the window, feeling his anger and sorrow from earlier, reappear. _Lilliana made it quite clear I'm a beast._

Christine looked over at him quickly, fearing she may have said something wrong. She decided that instead of joking around anymore, she'd come out and ask him directly. "Hey, is something bugging you?" he looked at her. "I mean, you look like you just lost against Bill Gates on who can buy more expensive stuff for absolutely no reason." ok... so maybe, the joking did make an appearance.

Erik looked at her, a slight grin playing on his lips. If that last remark had come from anyone else... he may have been quick to put them in their place. But with Christine, everything was different. She was witty and humerous and to her, life was a big joke... and he didn't mind in the slightest or take offence to anything... which just left him even more puzzled. "Little more drastic than that, I'd say."

Christine smiled genuinely when he didn't take offence to her comment and was at least open about it. "Oh, I see." she looked over at him. "Well don't worry, I won't ask you about it... unless you want to tell me..." she tried hinting to him to tell her. "Because I mean, it is life... and we do all have our crosses to bear."

Erik flinched. "Please don't say that."

"Say what?"

"Cross to bear... sorry, it's religious... along with my mother, to whom I'm not exactly thrilled with, at this moment." he explained, looking out the open window and just intaking the air.

"Oh... parental problems. Well, whatever she did, I'm pretty sure she feels guilty as hell and most likely didn't mean it. Besides, it's bad to hold a grudge, you'd feel so bad if she died right now... not that I'm saying she will! But- well I mean to say is..." Christine blubbered.

Erik placed his hand on her mouth and laughed. "I get your point."

She looked up sheepishly and said, "well it is bad to be angry... it makes you hungry, and if I remember correctly, it's one of the seven deadliest sins." she smiled.

Erik looked back at her. "Did you go to CCD too, or something?"

Christine shook her head. "No... I just had a friend who was catholic. And out of boredom, I sometimes went to her once a week class with her." she explained.

"What in God's name made you do that?"

Christine laughed. "She was my only friend that was a girl at the time, when I was a kid... and it seemed interesting... especially when I was bored those Tuesday nights. Besides, her dad then bought me McDonalds after... and I loved McDonalds when I was a kid." she beamed, but then said lower. "My dad could never afford to take me out for dinner..." but she quickly covered it back up. "And it wasn't all that bad..."

"Maybe for you, but you didn't have to do it for seven years." he reminded.

"Ok, fine, you win." she sighed, as she pulled the car into the parking lot.

"So this is the coffee shop?" he asked, pointing to the sign that read 'coffee shop'. "Such an original title."

"Yupp. The best in all of Manhatten... well in my oppinion at least." she spoke as the two got out of the car.

"Please... this is probably the only one you've even ever been to." he laughed.

Christine stuck her tongue out at him, feeling wonderful. She liked how with Erik, the two could act idiotic and just goof around without any expectations to it... ever since she had begun dating Raoul, they couldn't exactly do that anymore.

They both went inside, and Erik felt odd at first. The place was already quite packed, and half the room was at least looking at him now... but Christine did not seem to take notice of that, and grabbed Erik's hand, pulling him to a table in the back, much to Erik's relief.

"The back is always much nicer... no one to there and scrutinize you with their eyes." she explained.

Erik looked over at her, slightly shocked. "I don't think you have to worry about people doing that to you..." Erik accidentally said.

Christine looked up at him, slightly shocked. Was he signifying that, that happens to him? "That's not true!"

"Why? You're beautiful, you have nothing to worry about." Erik felt his face go red when he said that. He hadn't actually meant to say that out loud... _well now I just made this awkward._

Christine blushed, caught off guard. "Thank you." she tried to put him out of his misery and embarassment. "But still, I hate it when people sit their, thinking my life is so simple because I'm... well, what you just said." now she went red, not wanting to say that she was beautiful... "Or when guys come up to me and hit on me. All they care about is looks." she scoffed.

Erik smiled at her, then folded his arms on the table, feeling kind of awkward in this conversation. "So what shall we drink?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

Christine beckoned to the waiter and ordered two mocha frappachinos. "I thought we were having coffee." Erik pointed out.

"People always invite others for coffee. Half the time though, people never actually order coffee." she laughed. After a few pauses, she said something quickly to cover the quiet. "So, tell me about that business problem you had a few weeks ago."

"Oh, that? Haven't seen them since." he said succintly, staring at the table. "I'm making my own proposal, and we'll see what they do then." he responded honestly.

"Why do you want these chain of buildings? If you don't mind me asking... you're already rich as it is..." Christine pointed out.

"I'm not quite sure." he stated honestly again. He then changed the subject from him, not really wanting to be reminding of his _other_ life. _Wow, that makes me sound like some married husband who sneaks out each night..._ "Didn't you mention something about school?"

Christine's face lit up, and she beamed. "Yes!" she bent over and pulled her book bag onto her lap. Then pulling a piece of paper out, she laid it down on the table in front of Erik.

He immediately picked the paper up, and skimmed through it. What did not go un-noticed to him, was the huge circled 'A' in red felt pen, at the very top of the page. A smiled fell upon his lips. "Oh my God Christine, that's wonderful!!" he picked his frappachino up and held it as a cheer, to which Christine complied immediately. "But why are you showing me this one? I'm almost positive you have hundreds of 'A' quality papers."

She smiled again, setting the frappachino back down. "I want you to have that one."

"Why? -I mean, I'd love to..."

"Just because," she said more to herself. She grabbed the paper and wrote something at the top, then handed it back to him.

"Don't forget to Dream On." he looked up at her puzzled.

"You once told me you felt something was impossible in your life..." she knew she had earned his attention. "Well now you've accomplished it... just don't forget that line. Just because now you're getting married, doesn't mean you can't accomplish your new dreams. Now, you'll have a partner to help you with your journeys." she stirred the straw absentmindedly in her frappachino as she basically gave her congradulations.

Erik narrowed his eyes, confused. "Marriage? What do you mean? I'm not married -"

"Not yet." she laughed. "Silly, there's time in between proposals and marriages... well unless you elope. Wait, you didn't elope did you? Without telling me? Erik!" she hit his shoulder.

"I don't know where you're getting this, but I'm not married Christine... nor engaged!"

"But, your mom said you were engaged... wow, I just made an idiot of myself." then she burst out laughing.

Erik smiled at how she turned that awkward moment into something funny. But then he wondered why Lilliana would tell her that... "When did she tell you this? This afternoon?"

"No, over the phone. I've been calling all week... well, since last Friday. She kept telling me you were out with your fiancée." Christine looked at him, confused.

It suddenly seemed to click for Erik. He knew what this was all about. "Here," he took out one of his fancy expensive pens and wrote down a number on the napkin, then handed it to Christine. "There's a phone in my office she does not know about. I never give this number away... so if you call it, I'll know it is you."

Christine smiled and placed it in the pocket inside her vest. "And does your girlfriend know?" there was a twinkle in her eye, but for some reason, she really wanted to know.

Erik looked down. "No... she usually calls by the home phone, and Lilliana hands it to me." he felt his anger grow by the second for his mother. He couldn't believe she was getting into his personal life! He just wanted her to butt out!

"Lets go." Christine said suddenly, breaking through his thoughts. She was already standing up with her book bag slung over her shoulder. She had also grabbed both the frappachinos.

"Where?" he asked, grabbing his coat off the back of the chair and following her back to the car.

Christine looked over her shoulder and smiled. She then winked and said, "you'll see."


	12. A High Surprise

A/N: Happy Belated Canada Day to everyone who lives in Canada like me! :) Haha... I did nothing that day but go and see that new movie Wall-E... to which I actually did not care for... not into those "politically correct"movies. :P And According to my calendar, tomorrow's Independance Day... So Happy Fourth of July :D I'll be going into the States for the day on Tuesday too! :D

Been awhile... sorry. lol. But it is here now... and keep reviewing, it actually works. lol. Alright, so please keep reading and reviewing, it's all I ask of you :):)

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 12: A High Surprise.

_Sunday, December 2, 2007_

_55 Water Street, Manhattan, New York._

_Approximately 9:21 PM._

"Why do I have to wear this?" he waved his hand in front of his face, as Christine led him into an elevator in some foreign building. He placed his hands on the wall and felt about till he felt the cool touch of a chrome bar.

"Because, I said it was a surprise. If you see now, you'll figure it out. Now shush, we're almost there." she held onto his arm as she pushed a button, watching the doors shut.

She held his arm as it quickly began to move up, and stepped back, leaning against the wall.

"Yes, but why did I have to wear this thing thirty minutes ago? I really don't think I would have figured anything out by a simple stop somewhere." he complained, crossing his arms in a huff.

Christine said nothing, just inwardly chuckling, when an elderly couple and their grandchild from the looks of it, got in the elevator. This must be a sight to them... her thought was only confirmed when the child stared at Erik and whispered in the grandma's ear, while pointing at Erik.

"You really need to stop complaining Erik. Trust me, it'll be fun." she purred. She wanted to burst out laughing from the disturbed look on the elderly people's faces. And roll on the floor crying, knowing that Erik did not know they were in there.

"Oh, and what kind of fun?" he played back. "This better not result in chains and whips." he was completely oblivious to the others.

"If you're good." now she couldn't help herself, one giggle escaped her lips, and next she was laughing so hard. The elderly people had now seemingly placed their hands on both side of the child's ear.

"And what if I wasn't good?" he asked, still oblivious to the elderly couple and their grand child.

"You may just get special treatmeant..." she led on.

The elevator doors opened, and the couple huffed, leaving. One muttered, "disgusting."

Erik felt his face turn red, as he figured out what Christine had been doing. "T-there was people in here... w-wasn't there?" he choked out.

"Yes. Although, I do not think they cared for us... much" she laughed, pushing the button to close the elevator doors again.

Erik let himself smile, happy that Christine obviously wasn't embarassed to be seen with him... or mention well, 'dirty' things... even if they weren't true. For once, all problems were forgotten. There was just him and his beautiful quirky friend.

"Come on Erik." Christine clutched his arm, and tugged when the elevator doors opened. She led him to a door and opened it up. "Come, we have to climb a flight of steps."

"What? Why?" he demanded as she dragged him up the stairs.

"Because the elevator doesn't go up here." she explained.

As they climbed the set of stairs, they reached a door. Christine pushed it open, and immediately the two were both hit with the fresh nippy December air. Christine smiled, loving it up here. This was her place to go when she was stressed or when life was getting her down. Sometimes her and Raoul even had dates up here.

She pulled out a fairly thick blanket from her book bag and laid it out in the middle of the rooftop. "Ok, take off your blindfold!" she smiled, watching him patiently for his reaction.

Erik slowly pulled the fabric from his face, and felt himself stagger back a bit when he was met with the darkened skies and millions upon millions of city lights. He immediately noticed how high up they were, and felt incredibly dizzy all of a sudden.

"Erik, are you alright?" Christine asked, coming over to him and grabbing his arm. He looked unusually pale...

"Why... why are we up here?" he asked, finally regaining composure, as his sight landed on the blanket, to which he was now purposely focusing on so he didn't end up passing out or vomiting.

"Because it's so beautiful up here! I wanted you to see my secret getaway!" she insisted, as she sat him down on the blanket. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Isn't it wonderful though?"

"It's um, very high up." he acknowledged slowly sitting down next to her.

"Thank you captain obvious." Christine elbowed him in the arm. "You can't tell me you're honestly afraid!" she saw Erik hesitate as he looked out. "Life is all about be daring and doing things you wouldn't normally do! Now you can go home and tell your girlfriend you climbed and sat on the top of a skyscraper!"

Erik still said nothing. _I don't think she'd appreciate me telling her I was with another girl... on a blanket under the stars on a skyscraper..._

Christine continued to talk when he said nothing. "Besides, every so often you get the suicidals... and it's so amusing to watch them jump!"

Erik looked at her in horror.

"Kidding, kidding!" she laughed. She bent over and pulled from her book bag, two sandwhiches. "Chicken. I thought we should probably have dinner." she smiled at him.

He gave a thanks and accepted the sandwhich. He took a bite and asked, "so is this what we stopped for?" he asked, motioning to the sandwhich in his hands.

"Yes, and..." Christine picked up the book bag and shuffled around till she pulled out two cans of Coca Cola. "Coke! So we can destroy our stomachs and all get gastric ulcers!" she beamed and handed it to him.

He laughed and shook his head while they both ate. After a bit of lying there and staring up at the stars, he finally got over his obvious fear of being up there. In fact, he found himself to be enjoying it immensly. It was quiet and solitudal... and a great place to think. He could see why she liked it.

Christine looked over at him, watching his eyes intensly. She could see a whole range of emotions passing through. From fear, to acceptance to contentment. She was relieved to say the least, that he was happy up here. Somehow she knew he'd like it...

As her gaze landed on his mask, she wondered what he looked like. She didn't want to ask... she wanted to be the kind of friend he trusted wholy enough to show her. She figured, in given time, he would. But still, she felt she had an unusual connection with him... like even though they were friends, she still wanted to make him happy.

"I can see why you like it up here." Erik murmered after those moments of silence.

Christine looked over at him. "Yeah, it is beautiful, isn't it?" she admired, laying down on her back and looking up at the stars. "I always come up here when life gets me down. It's such a nice place to think..." she looked away. "I was always up here when my father passed away."

Erik, who had lain down himself, looked over at her. "At the age of eleven?"

Christine nodded. "Yeah, that was when I discovered it. I was a young depressed kid who wanted away from the world... and up here was the perfect place. It's tall and high... and it just feels like it's closer to heaven..." she sighed. "I'd like to believe that is where my father rests."

He smiled at her beautiful words. "And your aunt let you out into the mad cities of New York at the age of eleven?"

Christine laughed and shook her head. "Oh no, she thought I was at Brenda's house, down the street. Brenda wasn't really my friend, but I lied to her in order for her to let me go. If she had known about the skyscraper, she surely would have rung my neck!"

Erik gave a deep laugh in response. "For me, my mother would have shoved me out the door. She always said I was too anti-social and that I spent all my days locked up with the piano inside."

"Wow, our lives are like two ends of the spectrum... yet they're so similiar... if that even makes sense." Christine laughed, turning her face to look into his.

"It does... if that makes any sense." he laughed back.

He looked at her beautiful face and loved the way the city lights lit up her soft face, giving her an almost ethereal look about her that was rather alluring and intriguing.

"I'm cold, are you cold?" she asked all of a sudden, disturbing his thoughts of her, as she got onto her knees and grabbed her book bag. He nodded and she pulled a wool blanket from it. "I love this blanket. It is probably the most warmest blanket I've ever had." she got back on her back and laid it over them. "One year, I was about eight... my dad went to visit a dieing relative in Holland, and he brought me back this blanket. I guess I sort of have attachments to it..."

"Understandable. I guess I would too if it was given to me by a parent..." he trailed off.

Christine detected hints and traits of sadness in his voice. She wanted him to be happy, not miserable, so she decided to change the subject. "So tell me about your girlfriend." ...well she was curious too.

"Monique? She's a female..."

"Besides her gender!" Christine laughed, hitting him in the arm.

"Well, she's fairly tall... black hair, brown eyes and very pale skin. She's a magazine editor. As of this moment, she's in Queens on some business matter. What else would you like to know?" he asked, stopping himself before he could say that she was _with_ Adrian.

"How did you meet her?" Christine asked, as she tried to picture the brunette in her mind.

"University. Kind of had a bumping into..." he cringed at the memory.

"You seem to really like her." she commented, wondering where the icy overtone had come from... she looked over at Erik to make sure he hadn't noticed... appeared not.

"Well I guess it's like any other relationship... you have to like the person to be in it." he responded back, feeling his heart picken its pace ever so slightly.

"True," she responded, suddenly thinking of Raoul. She wondered what he was up to and where he was... she didn't want to mention to him that she was with Erik, because their first greeting hadn't exactly been one of joy and happiness.

"So now you have to tell me about your boyfriend." Erik commented, bringing her back from the recesses of her mind, and turning the tables on her.

Christine pictured the man in her mind. "Well you already know what he looks like... he's not exactly doing the best money wise... so I try and help support him because part of his money goes to keeping his mother in her clinic." she felt kind of odd telling him this. What would Raoul think, if he knew she were with Erik on top of thier skyscraper, telling him everything about him...?

"Job?" he asked, deciding to ignore the comment about the clinic. From the look that passed her face, he could tell she hadn't meant to mention that.

"Well, he was just recently hired to drive shiploads of food items to stores and such like Seven Eleven." she looked down. "He always wanted to be a History teacher... but he could never really afford it... not even community college."

"Oh," was all Erik gave.

"You know, I find it kind of odd..." Christine stated after a moment of silence hung between them.

"What?"

"I've only known you for a short time really... and already I feel like I can, well, tell you everything." she spoke, propping herself on her elbow and looking over at him. "You know?"

Erik looked over at her and mimicked her action. He said nothing at first, wondering why he felt the same too. They barely knew each other... well in lengths of time, in comparison to him and Monique. But he felt like he could tell her absolutely _anything_, and she would listen and understand. He was beginning to feel perhaps even more confused, if that was even possible... "It's kind of odd, but I feel pretty much the same." he looked her deeply in the eyes.

A smile appeared across her face. "Glad we have an understanding." she laid her head back down on the blanket, still looking at him. "Isn't it beautiful out here? I love the blankets of stars..."

"It is beautiful." he stated, still looking at her.

He couldn't begin to describe the feelings that were coursing through him right now. They were so... foreign. He didn't want to admit that there was a connection between him and Christine that he had never experienced before with Monique. _I love Monique. Just because there isn't an immediate connection... doesn't mean I don't love her. _He thought to himself, as he studied Christine.

He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked under the moonlight... _No, I love Monique. Besides, she would never love a beast._ He reasoned with himself. So she had become his friend... she was just a nice person. It didn't mean she loved him. She loved Raoul.

_I love Raoul._ Christine thought to herself, as she tried not to watch Erik. She felt all shameful, when she felt an attraction to the masked man. _He's in love with Monique! And I love Raoul._

"Christine," Erik whispered softly.

Christine looked at him, puzzlement a lit in her eyes at how tender his voice suddenly seemed. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. In fact, she didn't even know what to say! She felt like she had been punched in the stomach and all words had been stolen from her.

Instead, she leaned closer towards him... she had not the faintest idea what she was doing... but her body was doing it, and Erik did not seem to be rejecting it. So she went with her instinct.

Erik leaned towards her when he saw that Christine was suddenly coming closer to him. He knew that whatever could be happening, couldn't be good. Yet... why did his body seem to comply?

Her eyes suddenly seemed to close, her lashes upon alabastair cheeks. His eyes followed suit. He all of a sudden, didn't feel like he had control on this situation. But for once... he didn't mind.

Before he knew it, he could feel the soft texture of her forehead, pressing against the part of his that was not contained by a mask, and her warm breath fanning his face as her lips neared his...

"Oh my God!" Christine screamed, bolting up, when she felt the phone in her pocket begin to vibrate and one of Fleetwood Mac's songs begin to ring out. She immediately dug her hand in her pocket, and fished out her cell phone. "Hello?" she asked breathlessly and half annoyed.

At first, Erik felt his heart stop. He wondered if she was suddenly rejecting him. But no, her cell phone had gone off...

... that was both a good and bad thing.

He wasn't sure anymore... but he could have sworn, that they were about to kiss. And not just a simple friend kiss, or a quick hello kiss... no, something a bit more personal than that. A _lovers_ kiss.

Guilt wracked him when he suddenly thought of Monique. He had completely forgotten about her! What kind of a boyfriend was he? But when he looked over at Christine, he couldn't help but want to kiss her.

_I'm just imagining things. We weren't about to kiss._ He thought. _She was... well she was just going to hug me or something. That's it! Because friends do that... I think. Oh please God, let that be true! Or maybe not... God damn it! _He grew infuriated by his complex thoughts.

"Raoul!" Christine gave a light cry, both shocked and happy at the same time.

Erik felt a strange feeling pass through him, when he heard the blond man's name. He glared at the cell phone. When Christine turned to look at him, he looked away, not wanting to be caught looking. He was so damn afraid and confused!

"W... what are y... you calling about?" she stammered, feeling like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Raoul laughed on the other end. "I always call you... I tried your home phone, but you didn't pick up." he stated naturally. "What's wrong Christine? You sound all breathless and confused. Is everything ok?"

Christine looked over at Erik, feeling completely awkward. She didn't want to mention to Raoul that she was with Erik... that may upset him. "I'm fine! Just running... you know how bad I am at it." she gave a forced laugh.

Erik looked over at her, when he heard her lie. _Naturally she wouldn't admit to him that she's with me._ He thought bitterly. He did not know why he felt so angered right now... but he did.

He wanted to leave... but at the same time, he didn't.

Raoul laughed. "Well that would explain it. Always the girl with a C- in gym." he gave a mock sigh. "So I was thinking maybe we could meet up. You know, go to our spot -"

"No!" Christine interjected louder than she intended to, causing Erik to look at her oddly. "I mean... I'm working and I promised Tom I would stay late... you know." _Dear God, I'm lieing to my boyfriend. This must not be good._

"Working? Isn't it your day off? And you said you were running..."

"Well, I mean... it is my day off..."

Erik watched with amusement as Christine tried to work her way out of anything Raoul may be asking her.

"I promised Tom I'd cover Jessica's shift! Yeah that's it! She apparently caught the flu and he begged me... and you know how he always gives me bonuses... well I couldn't exactly deny him... and running?" she thought quickly, her face scrunching up. "It's so busy here tonight! Kind of have to run to keep up with all these people... and get things done!" she spoke so fast, that her face looked flush by the time she had stopped.

Erik tried to suppress a grin and a chuckle at how Christine appeared to be handling the situation. She noticed this and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Wow you can speak fast. Well I better -"

"Leave now! Yes I understand! Bye, love you!" Christine hung up the cell phone.

Raoul stared at the phone when he heard it click. "Actually I was going to say that I better see you tomorrow... odd."

Erik felt angered by those two words, but pushed down it, embarassed to admit that to Christine. Instead he forced a laugh when she looked at him, blushing in embarassment.

Christine opened her mouth, but actually found she didn't know what to say. She thought back before the phone call, and wondered if they were going to kiss... but she shook it from her mind. _Can't be... we're just friends. And he loves Monique and I love Raoul._

"Working, eh?" he chuckled, not wanting to be the one to bring up before...

Christine felt herself go red. But she quickly laughed, causing him to laugh too. She decided that the best way to work around the awkwardness, was to just not mention it. If he brought it up... well, then they would go there. But she wasn't going to.

Erik decided he wasn't going to mention it. Christine hadn't... so he wasn't going to embarrass himself.

Christine opened her cell phone and looked at the time. "I suppose we should probably go." she stood up and grabbed Erik's hand, pulling him up too.

Erik nodded his agreement, not really wanting to return home... and leave them in this situation. _Not much of a home._ He thought bitterly, as he reminded himself of who would be there waiting for him...

Christine watched him as folded up the blankets. She could see a mixture of emotion passing through his eyes and nonmasked side. "Say, would you like to stay at my place tonight?" _Wow, talk about sounding like a hit on._ Christine thought embarrassed to herself. Of course those weren't her intentions...

Erik's brows furrowed, perplexed.

She laughed at his reaction. "Well I technically do owe you... for housing me last time. This could be a sleepover and I could wake you up at three in the morning and eat copious amounts of icecream and fudge with you!"

"I think we've already covered that." he stated, amused.

"True... fine, we can talk about our feelings and give makeovers!" she giggled. She wacked his arm, to which he did the same back. "We can even have a pillow fight and play the music so loud, the neighbours call the cops on us!"

Erik shook his head in amusement. "Alright,"

He didn't care if the whole situation was probably awkward to someone else... or just wasn't plain done. She was his friend, and he truley didn't want to return to his home where Lilliana would be a bother to him.

He liked the sound of the idea.


	13. The Slumber Party

A/N: Thanks everyone for your kinds words on this story! :) It means a lot to me, and helps me keep going, as I have a lot more in store for this duo... they're really fun to write about :) Especially Christine; love quirky attitudes...

So my story 'When All is Said and Done' is pretty much coming to an end now... basically it's time to tie up loose ends. I'll be sad seeing as I began the whole idea thinking of it back in Grade 6 and began writing it in Grade 9... and now in a month I am moving into Grade 11. Man life goes by so fast... I'm already thinking about how I'm planning to pay for my nursing courses and other courses centering around exercise :P And I just recieved my provincial marks... I passed Math!! OMG!! OMGOMGOMG!! Sorry... total moment there... I'm really not that good at math... and this year I totally shirked studying... I know... bad... but I passed!! :D

Anyways, enough ranting... Please Read and review!

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 13: The Slumber Party.

_Monday, December3, 2007._

_Christine's Apartment. Room 47, floor 5._

_Approximately 4:20 AM._

"Erik, wake up!" she whispered fiercely as she grabbed a hold of his shoulder and shook him in a violent manner. "I will pour water on you, I swear!" she threatened.

Erik groaned as he started to stir and his eyes began to open up. He was met with Christine sitting next to him on the bed, repeatedly shaking his arm and pushing against his body. "What time is it?" he asked groggily, feeling confused.

Christine smiled brightly. Even though the room was dark, his canny eyesight still detected it. "It's four twenty-three in the morning." she practically squealed in an extremely bubbly way.

Erik lay his head back down in the pillow and sighed. As of this moment, he was in Christine's room. She had offered him the bedroom and claimed she would sleep on the couch. He had argued that it was only right that he have the couch, but after thirty three consecutive minutes of yelling and ending up on the ground rough housing, Christine had put her foot down and stated that it was her to be sleeping on the couch that night.

xoxo

_"I'm the one staying at your house, I should have the couch! It's your bedroom!" he insisted, sitting down on the couch to make a point after just rolling about on Christine's carpeted floor, Christine finally just sitting on top of him._

_"We've been arguing about this for twenty minutes now! You're taking the bedroom! It's only right! You are my guest, and guests get the better bed! That's part of the code!" she griped, throwing herself down on the couch as well._

_"What code?" he asked completely confused. Everytime he thought he had her nailed, and that he understood her, she said something that completely threw him off! And almost everything she joked about or mentioned, had to be explained to him in full detail, or he would simply get lost._

_"You know," she threw him a look. "The guest code!"_

_Erik's brow knit in confusion. Guest code? "What is that?"_

_Christine's arms waved about frantically in front of her, as if she was shocked to the very core that he did not understand. He was beginning to notice a trend with her; everytime she was shocked about anything, she flailed her arms about. "You don't know what the guest code is?" _

_He shook his head._

_Christine shook her mead in mock sadness. "Whenever a guest comes over, you have to do whatever they want and give them the best. Well the better of the two. Such as the bed. The bed is better than the couch." she patted the couch and nodded in the direction of the bedroom._

_Erik shook his head in bemusement. He thought giving the guest the best, went unsaid. He never knew there was a code for it._

_"Also, when they come over, you have to have a clean house, so that when they come over, they think you live like that all the time... even if you stuffed all your crap in the closet or threw it in the bedroom where guests are never suppose to go. And you have to quickly run the vacuum cleaner and quickly do the dishes." she looked around her apartment. "Well I guess I kind of shirked that rule..."_

_Erik gave a deep laugh when he looked around the room as well. Clothing was lying all over the place, dishes were stacked up in the sink and all along the counter tops. She had millions of papers lying all over the place, and the carpet looked like it had seen better days. In the midst of all this, the cat had burrowed itself in a corner of junk and left hair everywhere. It seemed to be quite taken with the mess..._

_"Well I don't care about the code, I'm quite fine with the couch." he leaned back against it, throwing his arms behind his head and attempting to look comfortoble._

_Truth was, the couch really wasn't all that comfortable... it was quite lumpy, and he swore there was a spring poking him no matter where he sat. It also made an annoying creaking noise everytime he moved, and he felt like any minute, it was going to break under his weight, and he knew he was an average sized man._

_Christine grabbed a blanket she had folded neatly on the coffee table, and threw it on her. She streched her legs, till they lay on top of his lap. "Well I'm going to sleep now. You can stay there all you like... but you'll grow uncomfortable eventually. Besides, I talk in my sleep."_

_"Go right on ahead. I'm totally fine here. Never been better. In fact, I happen to talk in my sleep as well." he lied. _

_She didn't respond. Instead, she closed her eyes and purpously shuffled her feet, making sure they kicked him slightly in the stomach. She even opened her mouth and pretended to snore._

_Erik shook his head, not giving in. He would sit there till she eventually got up and went to her bed. But an hour passed... and he still sat there, waiting for her to just get up and go to the bedroom. _

_"Christine?" he whispered, wanting to see if she was awake._

_About forty five minutes ago, she had stopped her false snoring. Although relieved of the annoying noise, he didn't want her to actually fall asleep. It meant that he had lost... for he himself could not fall asleep in the position he was in._

_He poked her, but she didn't respond. He tried again, but recieved the exact same reaction._

_Damn. Ok fine, he had lost. He had obviously underestimated her. _

_He lifted her legs and stood up. At first he stared at her, half tempted to just pick her up and put her in the bed so that he could just sleep on the couch. But he didn't want her to wake up on the journey over... how would he explain that? And that would be very awkward..._

_He grumbled as he walked over to the bedroom and climbed into the bed._

_Christine's eye opened slightly, when she felt him get up. She smiled as she watched his retreating figure enter the bedroom. She had won!_

xoxo

"And why are you waking me up?" he grumbled, flopping over till his face was in the pillow. He hated the fact that the pillow smelt of roses and hyacinths... exactly like her. He also hated the fact that he enjoyed the smell so immensly.

She crossed her legs under her and held up a bag. "I've got gatorade!" she pulled one out and dropped it on him.

He picked the bottle up and held it up, staring at in confusion. "Where did you get the gatorade?"

"I just came back from 7/11. It was the only store open..." she pulled out another bottle and opened it up.

"Why did you buy gatorade?"

"Seemed appealing at the time. I also bought chocolate and a lottery ticket." she pulled out the rest of the items and dropped them on the bed. "Do you have a penny?" she held up the ticket. "Ah nevermind, i'll use my nail."

Erik finally sat up. He watched as she began scratching at the ticket. He was amazed by all the energy she had... at four twenty-five in the morning. "Why did you go to 7/11?"

"I won two bucks!" she hollered, waving the ticket around. She dropped it down on the bed. "I told you I was going to wake you up, and I didn't have any chocolate... so I went and got chocolate."

"At four in the morning?"

"No big deal. There were only a few weirdos wandering the streets."

"Only a few?" he gasped, now fully up. "Christine, it's dangerous to wander the streets of Manhattan at four in the morning! You never know what their intentions are! You could have been killed!" he reprimanded. He couldn't explain why, but he felt concerned about her welfare. It angered him, imagining some druggies attempting to rape her in some filthy alley... _It's only because she is my friend._

"_Could_ have." she insisted. Then she grabbed his arm. "Come on!" she dragged him from the room to the living room, along with the chocolate bars. She sat down at the dining table and she began to eat the chocolate bar.

"Why are we eating chocolate now?" he groaned, trudging slowly after her.

"Because chocolate tastes better in the morning!" she leapt to her feet, and threw open the freezer door of the refrigerator. She grabbed a box and two spoons. Then she sat back down again. "Here, it's rocky road ice cream! My absolute favourite!" she started scooping it into her mouth while handing him a spoon.

Erik watched her, half asleep and half shocked. Who ate any type of dessert this early in the morning? He wondered why she wasn't feeling nauseause already. "You're going to have a hard time sleeping." he commented, still not taking a bite.

"Stomach of steel." she exclaimed, getting to her feet and digging through the cupboard. "Nutella!" she took the lid off, and threw it on the countertop, then took a huge scoop of it and began licking at it.

Erik felt sick to his stomach, watching her eat all that food. He wondered how she kept in shape. She mentioned already that she hated exercise. _She obviously has a very good metabolism._ He thought, as he lay his head down in his arms.

His eyes shut. _I'm not going to sleep... just resting my eyes... just resting my eyes..._

Christine hardly took notice of him drifting off, as she jumped to her feet once more. She felt like she could run around the block at least five times! _No way in Hell, will I be able to sleep._ She thought as she looked disdainfully at the couch.

Suddenly she knew what she wanted to do. She jumped to her feet and raced to the closet by the front door. She began digging around in it. "Argh where is it?" she complained.

Erik suddenly jolted up when he heard a loud crashing noise, "I'm awake!" he looked around the dark room, before his head lay back down again.

Christine let out a shriek as all the board games stacked up in her closet came tumbling down atop of her. She had pulled Monopoly at the wrong time... "I knew I should have pulled Scrabble first, then Monopoly and then Twister." she griped, as she sat up in the mess. "I'll clean it up later." she confirmed as she picked up the board game she had wanted in the first place.

"Erik!" she shook his shoulder after traipsing through her messy apartment and over to him. "Erik, I have the game!" she shook him harder.

He groaned. "Can we play it later?" he asked.

"No, we cannot. If we play later, than I'll have to go outside at this time of morning and wander around the streets of third highest crime rate, New York. And if a guy decideds to mug me or do worse... well... well it isn't my conscience at stake here." she replied nonchalantly as she set down the game in front of him.

He really wondered why he put up with this. He also wondered why it didn't bother him that she did all this. Any other person such as Monique or Lilliana... if they woke him up just to play some board game, well he wouldn't stand for it. But here he was, letting Christine do all the things he once would have considered extremely annoying and bothersome. _Things are changing. I'm changing. And I have no power to stop it..._ That wasn't true he acknowledged. _I don't want to stop it._

His eyes narrowed at her. And even though the room wasn't lit and was dark, she could definitely see it. Instead, she just smiled at him. "What game?"

"Twister." she stated, picking up the box and shaking it in front of his face.

"Twister?" he sat up now. "No way in hell am I playing that game!" he yelled. He could not see himself spinning some stupid spinner, and then folding his body in a certain way, just to touch some stupid colour. "Pick another game. Preferable one that does not consist in _moving_."

"But... but I want to play this game." she held it up again, pouting now.

"No! I am not getting down and putting my body in some position never invented man!" he argued.

She set it back down again, still pouting. She then stood up and noticed the smile on his face. She took a few steps, but instead of going towards the closet, she moved towards the front door.

She flicked the main light on and off and then on and off again, doing it repeatedly. His eyes burned as the intense light filtered through the room, and he rubbed his eyes. When he did nothing, she opened the front door.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Guess I'll have to go _outside_ then..." she put a lot of emphasis on the word 'outside'. "Where all the bad people are..."

Erik rolled his eyes. "Fine."

xoxo

_A Night Prior._

_Office Building #356, Queens._

_Approximately 11:24 AM._

"Come on Monique, let's get a coffee." his soft voice murmured, coming up behind her, his strong hands gripping her tense shoulders and giving them a slow message. "You've been working on that one section for hours now. Why don't we take a break?" he suggested as he held his arm up and looked at his watch. "It's only a quarter past eleven... I think I know a little coffee shop down here that's open twenty four hours."

Monique looked up from her pile of papers, and into the middle aged face of handsome Adrian. "Not right now Adrian, I'm busy."

She looked back down at her pile of papers, and lifted a folder up. She had been working on this one section for hours now, and was just putting the finishing touches up on it... "Give it back Adrian." she sighed as he took the folder straight from her hand.

He waved it in front of her face, before backing away slightly. "If you want it, you have to come for coffee with me." he grinned.

She ran her hand down her temple, feeling stressed, tired, and drained. She really wasn't in the mood for this. "Give it back Adrian, I really just want to finish and head over to the hotel and get at least a bit of sleep before tomorrow's meeting."

"Well fine then... how about I put it like this; I'm your boss and I insist that you take a break and come get a cup of coffee with me." he said in a mock business tone.

Monique sighed in utter annoyance. This had been going on for quite some time now. It was not lost on her, Erik, and everyone else she worked with, that Adrian was interested in her. Time and time after again, she would politely reject his offers, but he seemed even more determined. She tried telling him about Erik, but the man just seemed to not believe her. _More like, not want to believe me._

"Adrian, I've told you, I'm seeing Erik." she stated, still not budging from the chair as she turned and faced him.

His eyes narrowed, losing all sense of humour, and his lips became a tight line. "This isn't a date Monique, it's just a coffee." He, and her and everyone else knew that really wasn't what it was.

She sighed, deciding not to pursue that route. "Good, then it shouldn't matter that I'm declining." she leaned forwards and snatched the folder from his hand when he wasn't prepared.

Adrian looked down at Monique, feeling anger and annoyance eat at him. He had met this Erik quite a few times; such as the Christmas party they held every year and the few times he dropped by to visit or pick up Monique. He did not see what was so special about the masked man. But Monique wasn't giving him the time of day. He had tried, and oh boy had he tried... but she wouldn't even give him a chance!

_"Come on Monique, dating is meant to be for experimenting with all sorts of people. It's not like you're going steady with the man or you're married to him... there's still room to have fun." he had chuckled._

"Now if you'll excuse me, I must finish this." and she put her concentration back on the section. This was going to be a big section. _I can't wait to show it to Erik, I know he will be thrilled!_ She thought happily to herself. He was always happy for her.

Adrian still stood rooted to his spot, looking at the back of her. He did not know why he liked her so much... but he did. He loved how her black straight hair tumbled down her back and around her soft face. He loved her smile and creamy skin. He loved how her body filled out the skirt and blouse...

"Stop watching me." she stated, not looking at him.

Adrian smiled, but didn't say anything. He just walked out of the room, needing a bit of fresh air to clear his mind.

Monique pretended to keep working, till she was positive he was gone. She turned in her chair, and didn't see him. She sighed in relief as she turned around again and bent forwards, fishing out her cell phone from her purse. She opened it up and began dialing Erik's number.

"Hello?" Lilliana's familiar voice washed across, filling her senses with a bit of homesickness.

"Lilliana?" Monique questioned. "Is Erik there?"

Lilliana froze for a moment, not quite sure what to say. Did she dare tell Monique what had happened? It had been hours ago that he had left with that girl... Christine. "Monique? I'm sorry dear, I'm afraid he isn't."

"Oh," now Monique felt gloomy.

Lilliana spoke quickly. "He's at a business meeting out of town." she said whatever came to mind that sounded plausible. "You could try calling his cell phone..."

"Thanks," Monique hung up and began dialing Erik's cell phone. She had never wanted to talk to him so badly before, in her life. _I wish I could come home from this meeting to his open arms... to a husband._

A tear slid down her cheek when she heard his answering machine. She listened to his voice as he spoke, but as soon as she heard the beep, she hung up, not wanting him to hear her like this.

She dropped the cell phone as her face fell into her palms. She wanted to go home and just be with Erik. She had never realized the sound of a husband embracing his wife after a gruelling day of work, could sound so wonderful... _maybe I'm ready for the next step._

xoxo

"Ok, right hand on blue." Christine huffed from her position on the mat.

Erik groaned as his hand went out to reach for a blue circle on the mat. It didn't help that it was dark, making the coloured circles barily visible as Christine had turned the damn light back off. His body was tired from lack of rest and to old to be doing this, and Christine's body was pressed against him as she struggled to stay up as well.

"Y... you're turn." he gasped and muttered all at once, trying to breath in this uncomfortoble position.

He had his right hand on one corner, and his left underneath where his right leg was... which was one circle below the right hand. His left hand was on the other end of the mat. He really did not know how he was balancing. Christine was leaning atop of his back, her right hand on the other side of his body.

He had in truth, never played this game before. He was never really one for games... the most he'd ever played was Monopoly for obvious reasons, Scrabble and Chess. Nothing that consisted of physical movement. He had taken to the game quite quickly... but he was still adapting to the uncomfortableness. He wondered why anyone would willingly do this... for fun even. To him it seemed torture to have to do this to your body. _Well I'll be sore when I wake up._

Christine's hand slightly moved. She could barily reach the spinner. But her fingers were close enough, that she flicked her index with her thumb at the spinner, causing it to spin. "Right hand red circle." she gasped.

She slowly lifted her right hand up and above Erik's body. Inching a bit, she lowered it down to the red circle right next to the blue circle his right hand sat atop of. "Hello." she grinned as her left cheek ended up pressed against his right masked cheek.

He immediately felt awkward when she pressed her cheek against his. He wanted to move away quickly, not wanting her to have to feel that... but he didn't dare budge. For some reason, the pain he was in, was both good feeling and bad...

"Your turn." she said slyly.

He sighed as his hand reached forward, spinning the spinner. "I do not know why I'm doing this." it spun and landed on right foot on red.

Christine laughed slightly, still holding her balance. "Because you can't say no."

He rolled his eyes as he moved his right foot to the red circle at the corner of the back of the right hand side of the mat. Now he was resting atop of Christine... he felt himself go red. This was quite a compromising pose... well if you walked in randomly and witnessed it.

Christine held in her giggle at how the two now stood. If Raoul saw this... _That'd be a tough situation to explain._ The giggle she held back suddenly came back full force as she tried to picture what they must look like standing there, and if anyone saw this.

"Christine?" Erik asked when he heard her laugh.

To say the least, he was shocked, and always would be shocked at her willingess to be his friend or even so much as remotely touch him. Throughout his whole life, no one had ever wanted to touch him. Say for Lilliana and Monique. But everyone else usually tried to avoid him, his mask being so offputting,

"Christine?" he said again.

But she just laughed harder.

"Christine..." Erik said, when he felt his arms shaking and his balance become unsteady. "Christine, you have to stop laughing..." but she still kept laughing.

Suddenly a huge gasp and shriek left her mouth as he lost his balance, causing both of them to fall to the ground. She paused for a moment, shifting under his weight, when she just laughed even harder than before.

Erik grumbled, wondering why she found this so funny. "Why are you laughing?" he demanded, attempting to move his body off of hers, feeling awkward.

"Because it's funny." she laughed.

"Yes, but why is it funny?" he asked.

She didn't answer. Instead, she leapt to her feet and stretched her out to him, pulling him up off the ground. "Come on, let's get you to sleep. I think I've kept you up long enough." and she laughed again.

Erik watched her, feeling confused. She never answered his question. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he really did not know what he was going to say.

He shook his head and went into her bedroom, not needing to start anther argument about sleeping on the couch again.

"Oh, hello there." he stated, when he saw the cat sleeping on the messy bed. He looked the bed up and down, wondering if he could sleep around the cat. But the cat was in the centre of the bed, leaving him no where. "I suppose you wouldn't mind moving?" he suggested, not wanting to touch the cat.

Angus began purring.

He slowly stepped closer to the bed, hoping the cat would just move. But it didn't. Sighing, he tried to gently pick the cat up and move it over. The cat let him, and he climbed into the bed. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked, turning and looking the cat in the eye.

Angus got up on his feet.

"I'll take that as a no then."

But Angus just moved up to where Erik's head lay and threw himself down next to his face and curled up in a ball. His tail flapped about in his face.

Erik sighed.


	14. Change of Tide

A/N: For all of you that have been following this story and When All is Said and Done, I am SO sorry I haven't updated lately! There is only one more chapter and the epilogue for When All is Said and Done, but I'vee been so busy I just haven't had time :(. School, work, and having a social life... lol. And now I've begun an acting course for movies and shit like that. I promise that chapter will be up as soon as I can get it up!

Besides the few times this story gets updated and the remainder of When All is Said and Done, I won't really be writing until Summertime after Grade 11 ends. This February I may or may not add a new story... something I've really been wanting to get out to the public. So yeah, don't give up hope, I have not quit permanently!

Anywho, enjoy!

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 14: Change of Tide.

His eyes opened up to the sight up sunlight filtering in the bedroom. At first his eyes blinked, wondering where he was, and why something soft was buried against half his face. But as he paused, all the previous events came crashing back. He looked over, to see Angus burrowed against his face on the pillow next to his head.

He sat up with a groan, and threw his legs over the side of the bed. His hand went out, and rubbed his head, his eyes blinking as they adapted to brightness of the room and from just coming waking up.

He went into the main room, seeing if Christine was there. But he came into an empty room; an empty messy room. The closet in the corner was overflowing with board games and board pieces that were scattered all over. "That must have been the loud crashing noise last night." he mused aloud. Chocolate bars and lots of dishes sat in the sink and piled atop of the counters. There was clothing and papers all over the floors along with the twister game.

He wondered where Christine was, but caught sight of a huge pink heart shaped sticky note attached to the door. He stepped over all the things and picked it up.

_Erik, I had to leave for work today, as Tom called, asking me to work full shift today. Hey, it's extra money in my pocket. Anyways, I didn't want to wake you up, as you looked peaceful sleeping there and I kinda kept you up late... sorry about that. To make up for it, I made you pancakes. They're sitting on the table. And can you give Angus his can? I ran out of time, but the cans are in the cupboard above the stove. Pick anyone. And please lock up when you leave. I left you my spare key on top of the refrigerator. _

_Thanks, Christine._

Erik set the note down on the coffee table and walked over to the stove. He opened up the cupboard, and grabbed a random can. He then fetched a plate and went into the bedroom where Angus was resting.

Standing in the doorway, he announced, "well, I was told to give you your can." he looked at the cat, who was now looking at him. Holding the can up, he read, "It appears today you'll be feasting on 'salmon feast'." he looked over at the cat again, who was just staring at him. "Aren't you at least going to follow?"

He walked back in the kitchen and opened up the can, to which Angus came bolting in the room, leaping onto the countertop immediately. He began to nuzzle Erik, to which Erik replied annoyed, "I'm trying to give you a meal here. You musn't do that." but the cat kept nuzzling him, even his mask.

When he finally got the food out of the can and onto the plate, he set it down on the floor, to which the cat jumped down and began to gobbil down. "What, no thank you?" Erik asked, watching the cat amused. The cat just kept eating.

He shook his head as he sat down at the table. There was already a plate and cutlery set out for him. Next to the plate, was a bowl filled with pancakes, a plate sitting atop so they wouldn't get cold. As he began to serve himself, he poured the syrup on them, kind of wishing he had Christine's company.

He was shocked and happy to say the least, that Christine obviously trusted him. She trusted him enough to give him the spare key to her house and not ransack it while she was gone. Trusted him enough to let him be in it alone and to take care of the cat.

He looked over at Angus, who still sat there eating.

Getting up to his feet, he went and picked up the plate and set it down on the table across from him. At first Angus just watched him in curiosity, but then quickly followed his food over to the table. "There, now we both have company." Erik stated, taking a bite of his pancake and watching Angus.

Erik would never admit this to Christine or anyone else for that matter, but he rather liked the cat. The cat seemed to completely welcome him. He had never really been an animal person, as he hated taking care of creatures that just shed, went to the bathroom and was another mouth to feed. But he liked how this bundle of fur seemed to totally accept him. Even purred when he touched it.

"I take it you are enjoying your meal?" Erik said to the cat.

Angus started to purr, before standing up from his food. Erik watched him, wondering if the cat was going to leave. Instead, Angus just flopped himself down on the newspaper Erik had also been reading. "I guess you don't like the sports section then, huh?" he grinned.

The cat continued to purr.

"Good, because neither do I." he found sports a waste of time. What did you gain by watching some people run around after a ball or doing whatever they were doing? He'd rather do something much more productive with his time.

After he finished eating, he checked the time. "It's already twelve thirty?" he gasped, looking at her clock on the wall, then his watch, and then finally, Angus. He rised to his feet, knowing he better return home soon, or Lilliana may just call the police. _Wait, I'm angry with her. She can wait a bit more longer... and worry a bit more._ He decided he would slowly return home. _Dear Lord, I sound like a rebellious teenager now._

He looked at Angus again, as he stood in the midst of her apartment, wondering what to do. "You know, you have it quite lucky. Sleep all day and be doted on by a human. I wish my life were as a simple as yours."

Both his head and the cats turned, when a knock sounded from the door. He waited, hoping the person would go away, so he wouldn't have to open the door. It wouldn't look good for him to be seen in there. But the knocking persisted till it became banging.

At first he thought that maybe it was her boyfriend. He felt a strange feeling encompass him at that thought. Was it anger, misery, _jealousy_...? _I am not jealous. She doesn't belong to me, and I love Monique._ He reassured himself. _I just wish to be alone._

The pounding continued, till a voice began calling. "Christine! Christine, open this door right now!" it was the voice of a woman. "It's your landlord! I know you don't work Saturdays, so open up!"

Erik sighed in relief that it wasn't her boyfriend. But a new worry filled him. He quickly opened up the door, to be met with a woman in her early forties. The woman was fairly short, wearing a robe and curlers still in her hair. Her face was extremely painted up, causing Erik to feel disgusted. She had bright blue eye shadow on, and bright pink lipstick on. She had a lot of powder on, but you could still see the wrinkles. He didn't like how un-natural it looked though. It looked like she was trying too hard and Erik found that to be quite a turn off.

"Can I help you?" he said through tight thin lips.

Mariam looked up at the man in shock, not expecting to find a man in there. Well, not a man who wasn't Raoul and at this time. She had to say though, the man was quite attractive. The way his black hair fell over his face and was all mussed... the part of his face that wasn't obscurred by a mask, had a 5 o'clock shadow forming. A few lines etched across his deep masculine face, but she found that to attractive. And his eyes were a deep sensual colour of green. She had never seen eyes quite like them... the part of his face that was covered by a mask, she did not mind. The mask just made him more inviting... making him look sort of dangerous and secretive.

She immediately wondered whom this man was. _That little tramp._ Mariam thought, as she looked him over once again. He looked quite nice in those pants... Plastering on a smile, she purred, "Is Christine here...?"

Erik narrowed his eyes. "As a matter of fact, she is not. Now if you will kindly lea -"

She cut him off, grabbing his arm and pulling herself into Christine's apartment. "So tell me your name." she used her husky voice, her hand moving to touch his chest.

Erik quickly took her hand and removed it. He was quite disgusted by this woman already. "State your purpous and leave."

Mariam looked around the messy room, then back at Erik. She smiled once more, but it faded when she saw Erik cross his arms over his chest and glare at her. "Christine has yet to pay her rent." she stepped toward the coffee table, picking up the note Christine had written previous. "In fact, this is her second month. Tell your little girlfriend, that if she doesn't get me my rent soon, she'll be out on the street, where she can sell herself." she dropped the note like it was poison.

Erik wanted to slap this woman for her crude words and disgusting attitude. But he restrained himself, knowing that would effect Christine negatively, having her thrown out and him, a law suit.

His hand went out and dug in his pocket. He pulled out a wad of bills and a cheque book. Holding up the wad of bills in front of her face, he asked, "will this be enough?"

Her eyes looked at all the money hungrily. Her hand went out to immediately grab it, but he pulled it back.

"Now, will this pay for at least two more years?" he asked, looking around the tiny apartment. In his oppinion, it should pay for at least ten more years, but he held his tongue.

Mariam nodded, still watching the money.

"Very well then. I don't want you harassing her about the money. And do not speak of this to her. Do you understand me?" she nodded. "I don't give a damn what reason you give, but do not mention anything of me." she nodded once more, and he held out his hand, to which she snapped the money from.

He watched the woman in disgust. _Goldigger._ He now deemed her to be as he saw her open her robe slightly, revealing a revealing outfit. She pulled at her top a bit, and stuffed the money into her brassiere.

"Now leave." he ordered.

Mariam wasn't a fool when it came to money. She quickly left the room, planning to make more appearances in his life. She knew a wealthy man when she saw one. _So the little tramp has finally moved onto bigger digs._ She thought as she sauntered down the hallway. Raoul was attractive, Mariam admitted that, but he was lacking in wealth.

Erik closed the door behind the horrible woman, relieved she was gone. He turned when he heard the distinct sound of Angus meow.

"Yes, I must agree, I think she was a horrible woman as well."

xoxo

"Oh my God, did you hear that Veronica is going out with George from lighting?" Nancy gabbed. "Apparently they've been seeing each other for at least six months! I swear, how did that girl keep it on the down low? If I were dating a hunk like that, I'd be telling everyone!" she laughed.

"Telling everyone... yeah." Monique mumbled, her chin resting in the palm of her hand on the table.

"I know, right? I swear, she's one lucky gal! I haven't been on a real date in at least four months." Nancy sighed. "I think I'm destined to be alone."

"Destined to be alone... right." Monique muttered once more, staring out the window at all the people passing by.

Nancy set down her fork, fed up of eating salads. "Are you there Monique?" she waved her hand in front of Monique's face, snapping her finger.

"Wha?" she gasped, looking up.

"Are you ok?" Nancy asked in concern. "I swear, you've been in a funk lately. You've barily heard a word i've said these past ten minutes." she stated, looking her friend sharply in the eye in worry.

"I have too!" Monique said defensively.

"What was the last thing I said then?" Nancy asked.

Monique looked down sheepishly, knowing that she hadn't been listening at all. Just last night she had tried calling Erik, only to reach his answering machine and find out he was at a out of town business meeting as well. She had finally realized that maybe she would like a bit more with Erik. Perhaps marriage was the right direction for them. She could handle the mask thing for now, but she just wanted someone to come home to. But this whole realization had put her in a funk, wondering if that day she had rejected his offer was a big mistake.

"I'm sorry Nancy. I guess a lot of things have been on my mind as of late." she apologized, looking her friend in the eye.

"Does this have to do with your masked man?" Nancy asked softly. She knew all about the proposal of marriage that Monique had rejected. After all, it was Monique had had shown up at her doorstep that night, crying and begging to stay the night.

Monique looked at her friend and slowly nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Nancy asked, placing her hand on Moniques in a comforting manner.

"I... I think i'm ready for more." Monique admitted honestly. "I've given it a lot of thought... and I just want someone to come home to from work everyday. Someone to have and to hold me when I'm stressed out about something completely stupid." she sighed. "What do you think?"

Nancy stared at the table for a few seconds. "Well, I think it's nice that you want that. Maybe you are ready for the next step. But what about the mask issue? Has he finally shown you?"

Monique shook her head. "No, he hasn't. He says he's afraid."

"Afraid?" Nancy echoed.

"Yes, afraid. I just want him to trust me. I wanted him to show me before we made that step because I thought the marriage wouldn't work unless there was trust on both sides. But now... now I'm beginning to regret ever rejecting him over that. I mean, we all have our crosses to bear, and that obviously is his. I mean, I could do worse. I could be into some axe-murderer." she sighed once more, putting her face into her hands.

"True, you could do worse. He seems like a decent guy." Nancy commented, recalling the few times she had met him. Mostly Christmas parties and such.

"I know." she groaned. "I just can't seem to pick a route and stick with it. One minute I can't handle the thought of marriage unless everything between us is out in the open. Next, I just want to marry him, forgetting all about our problems. Oh Nancy, tell me what to do."

Nancy thought for a second, wondering what she would do in her position. In fact, she'd love to be in Monique's position. All men she had dated in the past had turned out to two timer, stand upper, jerks. If the perfect man was cursed with a mask, well she had it pretty damn lucky. "I say you should tell him. Sit down with him and discuss how you are feeling. See what he thinks and then plan from there. Till then, there isn't much you can do."

Monique looked up and smiled at her friend. "Thanks Nancy, I will."

xoxo

Erik closed the door behind him softly, trying to make as little noise as possible. He looked around the desserted hallway, seeing and hearing no one. With a sigh of relief, he shook his coat off, and hung on the wrack by the door. He peeled his black leather gloves off and dropped them on a closet bench.

He walked over to the bar located in the den that connected to the kitchen, and pulled out a bottle of Vodka. Pouring some, he walked through the house towards his office, drinking it.

He paused, his steps coming to a complete stop as he heard a strange noise. He listened more intently now, as the sounds became a bit louder. He realized they were coming from the bathroom just down the hallway.

His brows furrowed as he took a few steps down the hallway on cat feet, towards the bathroom. As he neared he heard a grunt. His hand went out and grabbed a shoe horn off the table. His thoughts were instantly filled with the distant memory of Christine laughing when he had used it the night she came over to wallow. Subconciously, a smile stretched across his face.

But it faded away as he turned to the bathroom, and threw open the door, holding the shoe horn up in mid air.

A scream erupted into the air as he was met with the sight of Lilliana sitting knees on the floor, hunched above the toilet. "Erik?" she gasped, after her scream had died down. She quickly looked back over at the toilet and flushed it.

"What are you doing?" he gasped, taking a step closer. "Are you sick?" he demanded.

Lilliana looked back at the toilet, and then Erik. "I just have a bit of the flu." she said quickly, not wanting to upset him further. "I'll be fine -" suddenly a huge cough started to shake her body. Her hand sat atop of the toilet seat as she attempted to stable herself.

Forgetting about his anger with her from before, Erik quickly kneeled down beside her shaking body and clutched her hand. His other hand dropped the shoe horn on the ground and grabbed a hold of her shoulder, trying to help stabalize her.

After a few moments, Lilliana took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. They sat there for a few moments, and when he was sure she was fine again, he demanded, "what's wrong with you?"

She looked up at him gently, her wrinkled face creasing. "I told you, I just have the flu. It'll pass in a few days, you need not worry about me." but she smiled at her son, glad she still had him and the he was home again.

Erik gave a sigh as he got to his foot, helping Lilliana up as well. At first he just wanted to hug her, relieved she was ok. But his previous anger and returned, and he stated gruffly, "well, I'll be in my office if you need me."

Her small hand went out and grabbed a hold of his arm. "Erik, about before, I'm dreadfully sorry! I didn't mean it at all. It's just... just I don't -"

"It's fine." he stated motionlessly.

Lilliana knew she had not been forgiven yet, and held firmly to the sleeve of his shirt. "No, it's not fine Erik. I hurt you, and for that, I don't deserve God's graces. But please, we need to talk."

Erik didn't look at her, still upset. "It's fine." he repeated.

"Please Erik." her voice was soft and held a quiver in it that even he detected through his anger. "I really need to talk to you. I feel like we haven't spoken to each other lately, and I do not understand what's going on in your world. Please."

Erik wanted to just stalk off, but felt his shoulders slump at her plea. Perhaps it was time to make amends. Everyone in life made mistakes... including himself, but it was hard to stay angry at someone, especially when they were asking for forgiveness. "Fine, we can talk." he looked at her. "But let's move this to the den." he looked around the bathroom, not wanting to discuss personal things around a toilet.

Lilliana smiled up at Erik and nodded. "You go right on ahead, I just have to take care of something."

Erik looked at her oddly, but nodded anyways. He exited the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Lilliana sighed when the door had been shut. She looked back over at the toilet and frowned when she saw a bit of blood still in there. She immediately flushed the toilet and washed her hands. As she washed them, she looked into the mirror, staring at her reflection.

"When have I suddenly aged?" she asked herself, as she noticed the wrinkles that marred her face and her blanching when she saw how white her hair had become. Her frail hands went up and pinched her cheeks, trying to put colour back into them.

A stray tears fell down her face, running along the bumps and creases of her old face. _I have to tell him._ Her thoughts nagged. "But I can't. My problems aren't as important as his right now." she stated firmly, as she recalled how he left with Christine last night, and had never returned.

She felt sick with dread, wondering if Erik had stayed with that... that gold digger! _He wouldn't do that to Monique. He loves her._ Her thoughts tried to reassure. But they weren't doing a good job, for she didn't feel reassured. "Erik's a young man. He may be different from most, but he is still a man." she stated out loud. "And any man still have the same desires and needs as any normal man."

She wiped away her tear and the next tear, and even the next tear. "No." she clenched her hand. "Erik's not like that. He wouldn't do that to Monique. He loves her. This Christine may be beautiful, but Erik would not do that."

She exited the bathroom, repeating that in her mind. She was determined not to jump to conclusions until Erik answered her. She walked into the den to find Erik already sitting on the leather couch, holding something up. He appeared to be reading it.

"What's that?" Lilliana asked, joining him on the couch and looking at the CD case that he was holding up. "Erase, My Heart will go on, streamline." she read off the back. It was a girl's handwriting on a case that appeared to be holding a burned CD. "What is this?"

Erik looked at her. "Oh nothing." and he placed the CD back on the coffee table. "Now what is it that you would like to discuss?" he asked, changing the subject and using his business tone.

"Erik," Lilliana started off, biting her lip. "I'm sorry about what I said before. I didn't mean what I said. I never intended -"

Erik spoke blankly, cutting her off. "Lilliana, no one ever intends for what they say about another, to be heard by that person."

She looked down. "I guess I deserve that." she meant about him using her name. But she looked up again. "I'm still sorry. I guess when I saw a pretty girl coming into your life, it just annoyed me. You never once mentioned her to me, so I felt left out." she scooted over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm just concerned about you Erik. I don't want you to make decisions that you're going to regret later on in life."

Erik felt himself grow infuriated by that comment. "And what decisions have I made? Tell me Lilliana, what have I done that is so wrong that I will regret later on in my life? I think you should answer it, since you seem to know all the answers about me!"

She paused momentarily, stunned. She had never once seen Erik yell at her. "Erik, do you honestly think Monique is going to just mind that you're hanging with another woman? You're not five anymore! You can't just have a female playmate and expect Monique to accept it!" she argued back, recalling Monique spilling her concerns.

Erik furrowed his brow as he looked at her. "Did you tell her?" he asked, scared the Monique may know he spent the night at Christine's apartment.

"No! She came to me, telling me she was upset about some girl's name being written on your arm along with a pair of numbers! Tell me, what were those about?" she demanded.

If he had known back then when Christine was going to write down those numbers on his arm, that there would be so many problems arising from it, he would have never let her. "Dear Lord woman, Christine is just a friend! She was just giving me her numbers because she had no piece of paper!" he yelled.

"Just a friend? Where were you last night Erik? You never came home, so you must have obviously spent the night somewhere else." she threw her hands up, despite the pain. "Tell me, how realistic does it sound, saying you stayed the night at your friend, Christine's house?"

Erik glared at his mother. "She is not a prostitute and nothing happened! She already has a boyfriend and was just being nice! Why is it so hard to believe any pretty woman can be nice to me? Didn't we get past this when Monique came into the picture?" he ground out.

Lilliana felt a strange feeling pass through when she heard Erik declare that the girl already had a boyfriend. Could it be there was a bit of _envy_ attached...? _No, Erik loves Monique. He's even said so himself. _She reminded herself. But then she realized._ No, he has never said the three words about Monique..._ "I'm sorry Erik." Lilliana whispered softly. She didn't want to fight with him.

Erik's mouth opened to say something, when Lilliana's body hunched over slightly and began shaking. A huge cough came from her as her hands clenched the couch seat, her hands turning white. Panic immediately invaded him as he watched his mother.

"I think you need to go see a doctor." he stated gravely, immediately after her coughing had ceased and she looked to be returning to normal again.

"No." she coughed out. "I'm completely fine." she forced a smile.

Erik was about argue further, when Lilliana interuppted him. "I don't want to fight with you." she spoke quietly, her cold hand touching his bare cheek. "You are my son and I love and trust you."

"Thank you." he whispered.

"I just want you to be happy Erik. I know Monique makes you happy, and I want to see the two of you together." she looked down, a tear forming in her eye. "It's just when I saw that girl, I was afraid she was going to ruin it for you. I don't want to see you alone and unhappy."

Erik sighed, trying not to just start yelling once again. "I know, and I thank you for caring about my wealthfare. But I know what I'm doing. She's just a friend, nothing more." for some reason his words felt false to his ears. _What about the almost kiss?_ His thoughts nagged. _No, that wasn't an almost kiss. She loves her boyfriend,_

"I trust you." she said softly. "But I fear about Monique. I think you should be telling her this, not me."

"I already have." he sighed.

Lilliana took his hand into her frail one. "Things will get better between you two, don't worry." she reassured. "But tell me about Christine, I feel like there's a whole other side of you I don't know anymore. And that's a scary thought for a mother." she chuckled slightly.

"I met her one morning on the beach." he looked at her. "It was the night after the proposal. I had left, feeling completely horrible about everything that had happened with Monique." he didn't want to say rejection. "I saw her there and we began to talk. She seemed to completely understand my problems and wasn't afraid of me, as she had turned her boyfriend down the exact same night as well." he stated honestly. "After that, she kept talking to me and decided she wanted to be friends. Nothing has happened between us." he spoke firmly.

"Thank you." Lilliana smiled slightly. She knew Erik was being completely honest, but there was something bothering her. She couldn't place her finger on it.

Erik embraced the woman for the first time that day, relieved the fight was over. As he pulled back though, he felt a sadness creep over him. When he looked at her, he felt like he was looking at her for the first time in years. Suddenly she seemed a lot more older. He had never given it a second thought before, but now he noticed the lines of age perched upon her face and how her eyes seemed to have aged as well.

He said nothing though, not wanting to talk about it.

"I suppose I better make dinner." she smiled softly.

Erik nodded, half lost in his thoughts and confusion. She stood up and pinched his bare cheek as she left into the kitchen to prepare something for the two of them. Erik just sat there for a few moments, wondering.

What was happening to him? Why did he suddenly feel like a different person? He had always thought himself to be a man who knew what he wanted and how to get it... but now he felt like he didn't know what he wanted anymore.

He rose to his feet, going over to the grand piano that rested in the middle of the room. A sigh escaped his lips as his hand ran along the ivory and ebony keys of the piano.

"What's happening to me?" he quietly asked as his eyes looked back at the CD Christine had left here from those weeks ago. "I don't understand the changes anymore... I don't understand these feelings and emotions that are taking on a form of life on their own." he muttered.

His thoughts changed back to Monique. "I love her, I know I love her. Christine is just a friend. A friend that isn't for me." he stated, recalling all the quirky and strange things he did that would normally bother him... but for once, didn't.

"Say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in." he murmered.


	15. Common Sense Wagon

A/N: OK... so there are songs in here... um Sweet Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac, Heartbreaker by Led Zepplyn and some song I can't recal by Shania Twain.

=)=)

Been so busy lately... :( I have a monologue, some play where I'm an alchoholic :P and dialogue for my course and I want a part in the new musical we're putting on at my school... Beauty and the Beast! XD

This was supposed to go up last night... but the website was down... :|

Anywho, enjoy!

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 15: Common Sense Wagon.

"And that was Kacey Moore, singing Sweet Little Lies." the voice announced across the club that busy evening. "We'll be taking a quick ten minute break now, giving our star singer a break, who also happens to also be my girlfriend." a huge grin split across Tom's face and Christine saw Kacey blush deeply but smile none the less.

A crowd of awes filled the room.

"Yes, yes." Tom laughed. "And now for the next song, Heartbreaker, by Led Zepplin." the song came on within a few seconds. "Only I don't think that applies to Me." he joked to everyone before descending the stage.

Christine nudged Kacey in the side as she walked past her with a tray of drinks. "Someone really likes you." she brought out the last word in an annoyingly sweet voice.

Kacey smiled at her best friend. "Shut up!" her face turned beat red though.

"So you going to tell me what else may be going on between you two...?" Christine prodded, searching her friend's face for any hint of something.

"Christine!" Kacey gasped, causing Christine to laugh extremely hard. "I am no slut!" but Kacey bursted out laughing. She set the platter down on a nearby table and looked Christine in the eye. "Truthfully, no we haven't."

Christine gave a mock gasp.

"Hey!" Kacey swatted Christine who dived downwards, avoiding her friend's hand, laughing extremely hard.

Kacey opened her mouth to say something when Tom cut through. "Are you two shirking your jobs again?" he had a stern look on his face, but Christine could tell he was joking from the slight twinkle that was a lit in his brown orbs. "Because you know what I do to employees who shirk their jobs..."

Kacey stepped forwards slightly and placed her hand on Tom's chest softly. "Whatever it is... I hope it involves Me." she practically purred before cracking up.

Christine took a step back, a look of mock horror lit up on her face.

Tom looked over at her. "I don't think Christine quite agrees..." all three of them busted out.

The three stood there laughing till their stomachs ached and the muscles in their cheeks stung. The music and the loud voices of everyone behind them were surpassing them. "It's like being drunk," Kacey laughed, "only without the hangovers!"

"We should go to a real party." Tom commented, looking around the club. "I mean at someone's house. They have those cool kegs and its fun ditching the place when the cops show up." he grinned.

"But where would we find a party?" Kacey asked the obvious.

"Oh that's no problem. You know Kev right?" Tom asked.

"Your roommate, Kev?" Kacey asked referring to the roommate Tom shared his apartment with.

Tom nodded. "Yeah, that Kev. Well anyways, all his friends on campus are always throwing parties. We can go to one of those."

"But what about the club?" Christine asked, looking around after considering it for a few moments.

"We can close it down." he saw their looks of shock. "Why are you guys all shocked? I own the club don't I, so I'm pretty sure the boss is going to be fine with It." he laughed.

"Let's do it then." Kacey declared.

"I don't know..."

"Oh come on, don't be such a spoil sport Christine! You never do anything fun!" Kacey stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Christine's arm. "It'll be fun!" she looked at her. "Awe come, please come! I swear I will reduce myself down to begging. I have no shame..."

"I think she's serious." Tom chuckled. But he got serious again. "Come on Christine. One night won't kill us. I promise I won't tell the boss if it makes you feel better..."

Christine thought for a second, before her face finally broke into a smile. "Ok." she agreed reluctantly. "I guess it won't hurt. And it will be fun..."

"Of course it will be!" Kacey looped her arm through Christine's happily. "Now come on, let's ditch this joint."

"We have to close it down first." Tom laughed. He turned to face Christine first though. "Hey, why don't you bring Raoul along." he suggested. "That way you have someone with you at all times..." he was looking over at Kacey and grinning.

Christine stared at Tom in shock. "Raoul?" she asked. She didn't know why, but she just didn't want to go with Raoul. Visions of Erik being there though filtered through her mind though... them dancing on the floor... perhaps a slow dance? _Stop it._ "Um, he's working tonight. So that's probably a no." she looked away, feeling a sense of guilt that she couldn't exactly explain.

"Oh." Tom gave slightly. He looked at Christine closely, but shrugged. "Well I guess it'll be fine without him then..."

As Tom left to talk to the people, Kacey moved towards Christine and grabbed her arm. "Raoul doesn't work Tuesday nights. In fact, I don't think he works any night." she looked closely at Christine.

Christine felt her face go red and felt immediately flustered, but tried to cover it up. "Well he needs some extra cash, so he's putting in more hours I guess." she lied some more. _Oh God, I'm lying to my best friend... about my boyfriend no less._

Kacey opened her mouth to say something, but froze and then closed it. To Christine she appeared to have changed her mind. "Oh, well ok." she responded

Christine gave a sigh as Kacey left to quickly clean the tables and help Tom shoo the people out. "Why am I so relieved?" she whispered as she moved to get a mop from the back. But she couldn't admit to herself that she was glad Raoul wasn't coming... but why was their a lingering sadness that Erik wasn't?

Groans and gripes filled the air as people were quickly led out of the building. It didn't take long for Kacey, Christine and the other girls to finish cleaning up the club and Tom to start turning everything off. By the time everyone was done, the three of them really were ready for a party.

"Time to relax and go party," Tom grinned, rubbing his hands together as Kacey put on her coat.

"As happy as I am for the drinking Hun, what do we do about tomorrow and the hangovers?" Kacey asked, smiling at her boyfriend.

"We'll take it as it comes." he stated, draping his arm around her shoulders. "You ready to go Christine?" he called to her across the dark room.

"Yeah, just give me a minute..." she trailed off as she attempted to do up her jacket. "It's really dark in here; I can't exactly see my zipper..."

She was cut off as a distinct voice filled the air. A voice that once made her heart leap with joy and love... made her stomach churn. "Christine? Kacey? Why is it so dark in here?" Raoul's voice called across the dark club.

"Raoul," Kacey and Tom chorused as Christine looked up to see Raoul standing in the doorway of the club.

She immediately felt her face go bright red as Tom and Kacey looked over at her accusingly and Raoul in confusion. She didn't know what to say... but she didn't have to worry, for Kacey was already speaking. "We're going to a party. You wanna come?" she asked, making sure to look back at Christine and sharply in the eye.

Raoul looked between the three of them. "Sure. What party?"

"Just a friend's," Kacey stated.

"I thought you were work -"

"Let's go!" Kacey interrupted Tom, grabbing his sleeve and dragging him out the doors.

"What's that all about?" Raoul asked as Christine and he moved outside of the club.

She smiled weakly. "I don't know... you know Kacey and Tom."

He smiled and put his arm around her shoulders lovingly. But Christine just couldn't erase the strange feeling that had fallen over her as she looked up at her boyfriend's handsome face.

xoxo

The music loomed heavily over them as its beat played rapidly out for all them from the huge speakers set up in the corner of the living room. Christine danced along with her friends and boyfriend, but was somewhat subdued.

"You ok?" Raoul asked when he saw how pale she looked.

"What?" she called. She didn't really hear him due to the music being too loud.

"You ok?" he called louder.

"What?" she asked. "I can't hear you!" she yelled over the music.

"I said," he yelled as the song came to an end. "Are you ok?" his words came out loud and clear though as the song finished and he felt his face go red as everyone in the room glanced in his direction.

"I'm fine." she blushed.

He smiled faintly as a slow song came on. Tom and Kacey immediately paired off and began dancing together. "You wanna dance?" Raoul asked gently, holding his hand out.

Christine felt like shaking her head and saying no, but Raoul had already pulled her into his embrace and was moving along with her, to the words and the beat of the song.

_This could be it; I think I'm in love._

_It's love this time._

_It just seems to fit... I think I'm in love._

Christine tried to pay no heed to the words as her body was held tightly against Raoul's. She had never felt so uneasy and awkward before in her life... not with Raoul. All the times she had felt so alone and scared... or even angry, she had just wanted him to hold her. But now, that was farthest from what she wanted. In fact, she didn't even know what she wanted anymore.

_Erik; _his name just rang in her mind like bells. Her eyes closed, envisioning the masked man; the way his black hair fell over the rim of his mask and over his ears… the way his eyes... his sensual green eyes lit up when he smiled… and his smile...

_I can see you with me when I'm older._

_All my lonely nights are finally over._

_You took the weight off of my shoulders..._

Her heart picked up the more she thought of Erik. What was he doing right now? Was he thinking of her right now as well? A smile subconsciously worked and weaved its way across her face the more she thought of him.

_Oh, when you kiss me,_

_I know you miss me --_

_And when you're with me,_

_The world just goes away..._

"Erik." she whispered.

"What?" Raoul asked, looking down at his girlfriend in his arms.

Christine's eyes snapped open and looked up at Raoul horrified. Had she just said that out loud? _I need to learn to be more discreet._ She thought as a huge blush tinted her cheeks and she thought of something plausible. "I said bathroom. I have to go."

"Oh, ok then." he spoke as she pulled from his embrace and rushed away from him. He looked off after her feeling empty and confused... and he wasn't sure why; which only led to more confusion.

He caught Tom's eye from across the room and gave a shrug.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Christine cursed as she threw water on her face in the bathroom. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and could have sworn she was looking at someone different. "You need to get a hold on reality!" she whispered furiously, just staring at her reflection.

"Christine?" she heard a voice call from outside the door. "Christine, are you in there?"

"Yeah, it's me!" Christine replied back. "The door is open!"

The door slowly opened, revealing her best friend, Kacey. She came in and shut the door behind her. "Christine, what's wrong?" she came over to her friend and took a hold of Christine's arm firmly. "What was that all about back there? Raoul is all worried about you... I swear you've been so subdued tonight. And what's up with the whole thing about Raoul? Why did you lie?"

Christine shook her head, looking away. She just didn't want to catch Kacey's accusing eye right now. She had never known life to be so confusing. Yes, it had been difficult and hard during the times after her father had passed away... but she had always managed and knew what she needed. But now, she just didn't know anymore.

"Christine," Kacey prodded.

"I don't know." she whispered. She turned from Kacey, facing the bathroom wall and just staring at it.

"Christine, is everything ok between you two? This has nothing to do with the masked man, does it?"

"His name is Erik." Christine snapped feeling irritated that her own best friend would refer to Erik by his mask. "And everything is just fine between Raoul and me, ok?"

"Well that's not how it looks from here Christine." Kacey retorted, taken aback by her friend's abrupt behaviour.

"Then move!" Christine exclaimed. She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry Kacey... I don't know what's up right now."

"Christine," Kacey took a hold of Christine's shoulders and forced her to look at her. "I'm the common sense wagon, and I'm going to give you a fricken huge dose." she saw the confused look on Christine's face and slowly raised her hand and wacked Christine's cheek, "common sense!"

"Ow!" Christine covered the cheek Kacey hit. "What was that for?"

"Common sense; you need to get over whatever the hell is bugging you and get a grip on reality again! You love Raoul, now go be with him! I won't stand by and watch you ruin your relationship with him Christine!" she shook her friend.

Kacey paused, half expecting Christine to freak at her for slapping her, but was pleasantly shocked when Christine smiled slightly. "Thanks Kacey."

"What?" Kacey asked, alarmed. "What do you mean 'thank you'?"

"Thank you," Christine repeated, smiling a bit more. "I think I needed some common sense. You're right... I can't ruin what I have with him." and she left.

As Christine left, she reflected that Kacey did have a point. She couldn't ruin anything with Raoul just because she felt insecure about something. So what if Erik was on her mind a lot? It was just a passing phase... but she had to remember that Raoul was human and had feelings too. She knew that deep down she still did love Raoul... even if it wasn't quite the type of love he was searching for.

She headed over to Raoul, who was drinking a cold beer in the corner of the living room. "Hey." she said softly.

"Hey." he replied back.

"Look -" she began.

"About -" he began.

They both blushed and looked away. "You go first." he urged.

"Look, about earlier... I'm sorry. I was not feeling quite well." she lied. She forced a smile. "But I'm feeling better now. So what did you want to say?"

Raoul paused, lost as to what to say. He wanted to ask her if this had anything to do with the masked man... he was starting to get worried and maybe just a tad bit jealous about him... but now he knew he couldn't bring it up. "Oh, I was just going to ask if you wanted something to drink."

Christine smiled. "Sure. A beer sounds good about now."

She gave a sigh as he left to get one for her. Her gaze travelled around the room, just looking at the people. It seemed everyone had broken off into their own little groups. The heavy drinkers were all piled around the keg, the dancers in the main room, some people just chatting about whatever in their groups... she looked for Kacey and Tom, but couldn't seem to spot them anywhere.

"Probably off making out," Christine muttered.

"And what's a pretty thing like you doing by yourself?" a sulky voice asked from behind.

Christine turned to see a tall muscular man leaning over her, his breath heavy with the odour of liquor and cigarettes. She immediately felt repulsed, especially when he grabbed her shoulder. She shook him off. "I'm not by myself." she retorted.

"Well I don't see anyone with you..." his words were slurred and he reached out and touched her arm.

She quickly took it off of her and began to move away from him in search of Raoul. She spotted him and called out his name, beckoning for him to come and rescue her from the drunken man who was following her.

"What's wrong?" he asked alarmed.

She pointed in the direction of the big man. Raoul raised his eyebrow and put his arm protectively around Christine while handing her, her beer. "Excuse me, but do you have a problem?" he asked the man.

"Raoul -" Christine whispered.

"Let me do this Christine." Raoul stated, still staring at the big man.

"I'm talking to this girl here." the man retorted, looking over at Christine.

"Well don't. She's here with me."

"Why don't you let the girl decide that?" the big man said haughtily. He stepped closer to Christine.

"I said leave her alone!" Raoul snapped.

Christine let out a scream as the sickening sound of a hand coming in contact with a jaw filled the air.

Chapter


	16. In Reverse

Last Chapter: Christine, Kacey, and Tom ditch work to go to a party, but Raoul shows up and tags along. All night Christine battles with her feelings, but things end with one great punch.

A/N: Hiii everyone :) here's the next chapter! Oh, this Saturday I have an audition for a couple agents, so wish me luck :) Please read and review, that's all I ask of you! :)

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 16: In Reverse.

_Friday December 7, 2007._

Erik sat at his desk, lap top open. He stared intently at the computer screen, biting his tongue as he worked on some business affairs. He had set another business meeting with the executives he had blown up at before.

"It pays to be wealthy." Erik murmured smiling, amused. "You can blow up and they still kiss up." It was like going up to a person and throwing water in their face, and them still smiling.

He was determined to buy these expensive chains of restaurants. Oddly though, he was not sure why. He had gone through life, getting what he wanted and sometimes being bought out. Normally he shrugged it off, not really caring about the buildings he bought… but for some reason, these ones were important to him.

He set down his pen in thought, and stared at the pale wall before him. So much in his life had changed; his relationship with Monique, his mother, his thoughts, feelings and opinions, and of course, _Christine._ In fact, Christine was probably the greatest change in his life.

A tap erupted from the door, causing his head to turn and look as Lilliana entered the room, a tray in hand. A steaming cup of coffee sat on it, along with a couple of Christmas cookies.

"I thought you might like a break and would probably be hungry right about now." She smiled, setting the tray down beside the keyboard and running her hand through his long black hair lovingly.

"Ew Erik, you really need to wash your hair; it's greasy!" Lilliana exclaimed in disgust. "And you need to shave. How long have you been working on this for?"

"For the past five days." He admitted, not really paying attention as he kept working and sipped his coffee absentmindedly.

"Erik, you need to take a break!" she reprimanded. "There's more to life than work you know. And you need some vitamin D anyways."

Erik set the mug down. "I'll have a life again when I'm finished. I don't have time right now… I have a deadline for this. And I will not lose these chains of restaurants." He declared in a determined manner.

"What is so special about this buy? You never cared before." Lilliana got to the point, asking a question he didn't even know the answer to.

Erik just made a shooing movement with his hand, letting her know he was getting annoyed, fed up and was done.

Lilliana rolled her eyes, but picked up the empty dishes scattered about the room. She was a little put off, as he was normally a clean freak she didn't have to clean up after.

As she left, the phone began to ring. "Answer the phone Erik!"

Erik picked up the cordless phone absentmindedly. "Erik Devereux speaking," he answered in his business tone.

"Erik?" the voice said softly. "I'm so glad to hear your voice again."

Erik furrowed his brows. "Monique?" he said after a few moments pause. He hadn't spoken to her in quite a few days, and it felt so odd. Normally his heart would leap when she called, but right now he just wasn't in the mood…

"I miss you Erik." She admitted, smiling through her silent tears from her end.

Erik heard a note of sadness in her voice, along with tenderness that he had never heard before. "Is everything alright?" he asked, pushing his leather chair away from the desk and standing up to stretch his legs.

He had been sitting for hours, and a walk would do him good. He moved across the room in a few strides on his long legs, and looked out the window, his gaze looking at the dead plants and grey skies.

Monique swallowed hard, not wanting Erik to know she was crying. She didn't even know why she was crying. She tried to tell herself that it was just her time of month and her hormones were outraged… but she knew it wasn't that. She wanted something more with this man… something that she had pushed away and rejected at first… but just talking to him now, she felt overwhelmed with unexplainable emotions.

"Everything's fine." she replied softly.

"How is your business meeting?" he asked, sipping the cup of coffee Lilliana had just brought him, and just sniffing its inviting aroma.

"Fine." she replied succinctly, revelling in the sound of his deep voice. She had missed it. "I'll be coming home soon." She decided she was going to leave early. Her whole time spent there already, had been wasted. She had gotten next to no work done, too busy thinking about Erik and their problems.

"That's wonderful." Erik replied. Actually, he was dreading her return.

Monique smiled from the other end, not noticing the hesitancy in his voice. "I was hoping we could have dinner out together when I return. Just the two of us…" her voice turned husky, but Erik failed to notice it.

Erik moved, looking his schedule over. He was pretty busy… trying to get the proposals and such out, along with having a business meeting coming up soon, dealing with the time of year; Christmas was always busy.

"There are some important things I want to discuss with you Erik… and I just want to spend some time with you." Monique practically whispered.

Erik relented, not knowing what else to say. Besides, she was his girlfriend and he_ did_ love her. "Sounds good," He replied, not knowing what else to say.

He looked back towards his computer, at the vast amount of work that still had to be completed. _I'll just have to work extra hard for the next few days._

xoxo

Monique hung up the phone, feeling a bit better. She would be spending time with Erik when she returned… yet why did she feel there was something missing; something completely obvious at that as well?

Monique leaned against the table, her hand running through her long locks of hair in thought. All she could think about was going to Erik and just forgetting about the world in the perch of his embrace.

Her thoughts turned to Christmas; she planned to spend it with him this year. It would be her first Christmas with him and Lilliana. She knew her family would understand. She just for some reason, felt compelled to spend it with Erik.

Monique looked up suddenly, as a shadow fell over her. It was Adrian. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, concern etching his face. "You've been so distant this whole trip and now you're leaving early…?" he placed his hand on her shoulder.

Monique flinched slightly under the feel of his touch. It wasn't Erik's. At one point she had considered him to be attractive… but he didn't compare to Erik, her Erik.

She pulled back gently, feeling awkward. "I have to go and get ready for tomorrow." She spoke, making a move to get up from her chair.

Adrian stepped in front of her in one quick and fluid movement. "Monique, what's wrong?" he reached out to hold her arm, but she was quicker, and he held space in between them.

"Stop Adrian," She said in sharp tone, looking him in the eye.

Adrian looked at her oddly, put off a bit by her behaviour. Sure he knew that she was taken by some other man –a masked man-, but she had never completely rejected his advances or flirts, liking the attention he gave her.

"What's wrong Monique?" he asked, serious now as well. "You've been acted strangely lately."

"Nothing is wrong." She retorted. "It's just… you know I'm in a relationship."

"So?" he asked, looked at her amused. "You were in a relationship with him all those months ago as well and it never made a difference then."

Monique scowled at him. "You make it sound like I'm some… some whore and that I did cheat on him!" she yelled.

"You never exactly ignored my attentions sweetie." He said softly, feeling turned on by the pretty brunette he had had his attentions on for a long time now.

Monique rolled her eyes. "I never returned them either!" she threw her hands up, before clamping them down across her eyes. "Look, I'm going to be getting married soon… I don't want you doing that anymore."

"Married?" he questioned, completely shocked.

Monique nodded. She knew that wasn't exactly true… but after she spoke with Erik tomorrow, she knew it would be. He had proposed to her once, he would still want to now. And she wanted it more than anything in the world.

"Yes, I'm getting married." She said softly, smiling. She couldn't wait to see Erik and the look on his face when she told him how she felt.

Monique moved closer to Adrian and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I still care about you a lot Adrian. I still want to be good friends." She said softly.

Adrian looked at her, but said nothing. She was getting married? When he had taken a look at the masked man, he hadn't thought it was going to last long… I mean, the man obviously had something wrong with him, why would she want him?

Monique pulled back and whispered, "I have to finish up, ok? I'll see you later." And she quickly left, feeling excited to be going back home.

Adrian stood paused, just thinking.

He knew he cared about Monique more than just friendship or a one night stand partner… "It won't get to that point." He concluded.

xoxo

_Pastis Bistro._

_5: 04 pm._

Erik pushed open the glass doors later that evening and walked into the expensive and dark set restaurant. He looked about for Monique, but didn't see her.

Moving to the side, he stepped into a shadow, feeling uncomfortable. People were staring at him from all aspects of the darkly lit restaurant. He couldn't believe it; even in his normal element, he felt so… so out of place.

"God what is happening?" he asked himself. Only a few months ago… he had seemed so sure of what he wanted and what he knew. Yet, here he stood, feeling so different… that not even money could buy back a few moments of relief.

He made a few strides, and sat down, placing his hand on his head.

He couldn't get the image of Christine out of his mind. There she stood, tall and stunning in the black dress Monique had worn the night of the proposal… her smile lit up her soft face, her eyes shining and her curls tumbling wildly down her back, just dripping with her essence…

His eyes opened in horror. What in God's name was he thinking? _Dear Lord…_

"Erik?"

His eyes shot up at the sound of a voice. _Christine?_ He thought. But he was sorely let down, when he looked into the perky eyes of Monique.

"Oh Erik, I'm so glad to see you!" she sat down next to him and just flung herself into his embrace, her hands running wildly through his black locks. Her eyes shut tightly, as she sighed, just breathing him in. "It's been too long." She whispered.

Erik felt odd, hugging Monique when he had just thought of Christine that way… "I'm glad to see you too Monique." He whispered, wondering why he felt like such a fake.

She pulled back, smiling as she wiped away a few stray tears. "I hated going away to that business meeting. I promise you though; I won't be going away to one of those for a long time. I'm here for good."

"That's wonderful!" Erik smiled, wondering why she put him over work suddenly. She had always been so into her work and he knew that and accepted that it came first.

"And I'll be here to spend Christmas with you." She smiled, not seeing his distance.

"What… what about your family?" he coughed.

"They'll understand Erik. I just really want to spend it with you." She said sincerely.

He smiled slightly.

"Well let's order, I'm starved!" she smiled, scooting back over till she was facing Erik. "I was thinking lobster or steak… something elaborate, as there's something wonderful I want to tell you." She grinned.

"Oh." Erik spoke, looking at his menu intently, but not really reading the words. They looked so jumbled.

"Are you two ready to order?" a waiter asked politely, coming over.

"I think so." Monique smiled, looking at Erik, who nodded. "Well two of your most expensive red wines first please." She looked back at Erik. "Would you like lobster?"

"That would be just fine." Erik said softly, avoiding the waiter's gaze. He felt like he was living a dream right now… or at least the past. The scene was the same as when he had proposed to her… even the same waiter! He just noticed that, paling.

"And two of your lobsters please."

"Would you like to pick your choice?" the waiter asked.

Monique looked over at the grand aquarium that held the lobsters on the other side of the restaurant. "Yes thank you." She smiled. "But first, I'd like to wait just a few moments." She grinned over at Erik.

"Of course, take all your time." The waiter smiled, leaving to get wine.

Erik looked over at Monique a tad shocked. "What's going on –"

"Erik," she said, her voice serious as she looked eyes with his sensual green ones. "So much has happened between us… but I'm so glad we made it through…" tears started to form. "It shows a characteristic I was looking for… it shows that we can make it through _anything_."

His eyes darted and his heart sped up on that one word; anything?

"While I was away on that business trip… I had a lot of time to think… and I have. When we were separated for that short time, I was the most miserable I had felt in the longest time. I realized just how much I love you and what love _really_ is."

Erik's mouth felt dry. What was she getting at?

"Love isn't just a feeling you feel towards another… it's, sacrifice." She stated with an intense passion.

Erik looked about, feeling suddenly very warm and enclosed. He saw the waiter coming over with the drinks, and was relieved to be able to drink something cold.

Monique suddenly took his hand. "Erik, I know what I want in life. I was foolish and young before… only thinking like the naïve child I have come to realize I am."

The waiter looked upon the scene, wondering if she was going to do what he thought she was going to do. He did not fail to realize this was the couple from before…

"Erik, will you marry me?" she asked, her eyes looking at his intently as tears trekked down her cheeks, glistening under the light.

Erik looked at her, his mouth agape. "No."


	17. The Fight

A/N: Hi everybody! I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! :) It's finally time to relax and just enjoy our time with our families :)

But Here is the next chapter... not really Christmacy... but ok :P and hopefully in February, I'll be putting up this new story I've been working on.

So Please read and review, that's all I ask of you! :)

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 17: The Fight.

_Friday, December 7, 2007._

_College Campus House._

_9:09 PM._

Everything and everyone in the room went dead silent as Raoul's hand made contact with the man's face.

"Raoul!" Christine cried, frightened as the other man held half his face with one of his hands, blood appearing from his nose. She knew this was one lawsuit waiting to happen, and she knew quite _well_, that he could not afford that.

"Leave her alone." Raoul said dangerously, staring at the man who was hunched over a bit, a glare burning onto his face as he held it.

Everyone in the room had stopped and stared at the two men and the girl, the only sound was the music playing lightly in the background, as someone had turned it down to see what all the commotion was about.

"Come on," Raoul put his arm around Christine's shoulders comfortingly, leading her away. "Let's leave, this party was shit anyways." he knew she was right, they should just leave. He had already made a dire mistake is was, but he was just so… angry.

Christine didn't have time to object, nor Tom and Kacey. But at the last minute, Christine let out another scream, as Raoul was pummelled to the ground by the opposing man from behind, who had blood all over his sleeve and face by this point.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" the room gathered around the two men in a circle, waving their beers and arms around, chanting the same thing over. Some people got up and left, knowing this was going to result in one thing; the police.

"You bastard!" Raoul yelled, kneeing the guy in the stomach, tossing him to the side, giving him a chance to get to his feet before the other man could.

"Beer time!" one guy yelled, bringing over two large kegs as Raoul and Paul –the opposing man- attacked one another. Everyone quickly gathered around, grabbing a few drinks of beer as they watched the two men go at it.

"What the hell is your problem?" Raoul demanded, grabbing the collar of Paul's shirt as they lay on the floor punching each other.

"Raoul, stop! Just stop!" Christine cried, trying to get into between the two men on the floor. This was insane!

"Christine, move out of the way, you'll get hurt!" Kacey cried from the sideline. She turned to her boyfriend Tom. "Go get her Tom; I don't want her to get hurt because a bunch of dumb asses couldn't keep their hands to themselves! And stop this retarded fight."

"I agree," Tom nodded, pushing his way through the flocks of people.

Paul kneed Raoul in the groin, causing him to cry out.

Tom sucked in his breath at the sight. "Oh… that has gotta hurt." He shut his eyes, not wanting to imagine his pain. "You better hope your boys are ok man!" Tom called out to Raoul, who was now lying on the ground, holding himself down there, squirming.

"Raoul!" Christine cried out, trying to get forward, towards him. She shoved through all of the people, kneeling down next to him. "Are you alright?" she demanded, cupping his face with her cool hands.

"I'm… I'm fine." he cried out, still holding himself. He was trying so hard not to cry at this point.

"Oh my God… are you crying?" Christine caressed his taut face, grabbing a hold of his hand.

"I'm fine… Chris…" he muttered, attempting to get to his feet by that point.

"Here," Christine pushed her outstretched hand towards him, to which he took gingerly. She helped pull him up. "Come on, let's go Raoul… this isn't worth it. He isn't worth it."

Everyone looked over at Paul, who was slowly getting to his feet as well, watching as Christine tried to lead Raoul out of the busy room, with Tom and Kacey following. He glared at the young blonde man, but held his head tenderly. "So you're chicken you little Blondie?"

"Tom, get Raoul some ice!" Christine ordered.

Raoul sucked in some air, feeling completely embarrassed and horrified as the room stared at him as tears sprang forth and that bastard stood behind looking triumphant. He tried to ignore the screams in the back of his mind…

"That's right, you are chicken! Look at those tears!" Paul proceeded to make chicken noises, laughing the whole way through, to which everyone else in the room did likewise.

… "I'm gonna 'effin hurt you!" Raoul yelled, turning around and going over and punching him straight in the jaw of the face. He then kneed him in the groin, causing Paul to double over.

Only it didn't take Paul that long to recover; he was already standing up and grabbing Raoul in a headlock as they stumbled out of the room and into the hall attempting to beat each other up.

"Raoul!" Christine screamed in outrage as everyone in the room began their choruses again. She was fed up of this!

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Christine threw her hands up in frustration, screeching. "Calm down Christine!" Kacey grabbed her arm. "Everything will be fi –"

"Don't say it!" Christine snapped, storming off after the two men who were now pummelling each other on their way out the front door.

"What in God's name?" A girl screamed as the sounds of a crashing vase echoed just down the hall of the house of the college students.

Christine pushed her way through once more as the crowd stood gawking as the two men were in fist cups in the middle of the doorway. Christine cringed as one punched the wooden frame of the door, crying in agony.

"What the hell is your problem?"

They flung themselves out of the door and into the front lawn, falling down immediately as the sprinklers came on full force, due to someone who thought it was funny.

"Get off the yard!" Kevin yelled. "You're gonna destroy the damn grass along with every other thing in this house!"

"No! Let them keep fighting!" a girl cried. "This is getting hot! Look how wet their clothes are!" she screeched along with the rest of her friends.

"Raoul stop this God damn thing already!" Christine yelled, walking straight through the sprinklers.

"Stay out of this Christine!" Raoul yelled, kicking the guy in the stomach in the process. He moved over towards Christine when the guy lay on the ground unresponsive.

"You're going to get in big shit Raoul." Christine warned.

"Christine…" Raoul started.

Christine let out a scream as Paul threw himself back at Raoul, pummelling him once again to the ground. They just rolled about kicking and taking whacks at each other as the ground grew muddier.

"Fuck, you guys are screwing up the fucking lawn!" Kevin yelled in outrage, half tempted to just go and beat both of them up.

Christine glared at him. She just wanted to leave. Who cared if they were mocked for being wimps? At least no one would be hurt and they could just go somewhere calm and have dinner or something.

Her thoughts turned to Erik, and she wondered what he was doing right now. She couldn't fathom seeing him getting into a stupid and pointless fist fight like this… he would have been fine getting up and just leaving, even if his dignity lay on a thread.

She suddenly subconsciously smiled as his masked face appeared in her mind.

"Christine, watch out!" Kacey screamed suddenly.

Christine let out a yelp as she came crashing down as the two guys rolled into her. She lay in the middle of them, unsure. She let out a sickly cry as something hard made contact with her face.

Everyone who had been cheering suddenly went deathly silent at the sight; Paul lay off to the side, holding himself while Christine lay on the ground in the middle of the sprinklers, crying as her hand held tightly to her eye. Raoul lay next to her completely shocked.

"Christine… I'm –"

Christine sat up ignoring the dizzy nausea overcoming her, just feeling the water from the sprinklers continuously hit her as she saw nothing but black. She began to feel numb, except where there was burning heat radiating from her right eye. Her hand went up and slowly touched the area, feeling the extremely hot skin.

"Christine, please –"

Christine slowly pulled herself unsteadily to her feet, knowing she had to get out of there. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, and felt Kacey rushing across the muddy lawn towards her.

"Christine!" she cried. "Oh my gosh Christine!" Kacey yelled, the click of her heels echoing throughout the quiet little neighbourhood street as she ran down the street after Christine. "Where are you going?"

She caught up and grabbed her best friend's shoulder, turning her to face her. She could see the red and tender looking eye, in which tears were falling from. "Christine?" she hugged her tightly, feeling Christine shake.

"He… he hit me." She whispered.

"Shh…" Kacey soothed. "He didn't mean it." But still, she felt anger towards the blonde man at this moment. He should have been the better of the two, and walked away… especially to the woman who had been beckoning him. Wasn't that more important?

Christine cried harder. "I don't know what's happening anymore."

"What do you mean Christine?" Kacey asked seriously, her eyes opening at her friend's odd remark.

Christine said nothing for a second, trying to regain control of her self, and assemble a bit of composure. She pulled away from Kacey, taking a step back. The only way her friend could see her bruised face was through the glow of the street lamp; she gasped at how it looked.

"I don't know Kacey…" she admitted honestly. "I've been feeling odd lately… and I think I just need time to think." The tears started once again. _God, is it that time already?_ She thought, just wanting to burst out in tears. "I'm going to leave, Ok? Tell Tom for me." And she continued walking down the street, Kacey standing there shocked.

"Wait! Christine!" she began running after her again. "You can't just leave… where will you go?" she demanded.

"Somewhere… I just need to leave. Please don't follow me with Tom or… or Raoul."

"But –" Kacey protested, not feeling comfortable with this one bit.

Kacey and Christine had been the closest of friends for years. They had been through everything together. Not once though, did she recall Christine ever just fleeing. In fact, she never recalled there ever being any form of conflict between her and Raoul. They had always been too perfect for each other… to the point that it was sickening.

When Kacey had been used and abused by her last boyfriend, Christine had been there for her, helping her though everything. As Kacey watched Christine leave, she desperately wanted to do the same for her back, but she knew to leave Christine as is. Perhaps it was her last word that was left to be hers.

"Please," Christine's one word came out sounding quiet and desperate as she fought to keep her tears in check.

Christine continued to walk away, not looking back.

"Where is Christine going?" Tom demanded, coming up behind Kacey, ready to chase after her. "You better have not just let her leave. She shouldn't be alone right now."  
Kacey looked over at her boyfriend, and saw red and blue flashing lights behind him down the street, signalling the police had finally shown up. _Better late than never._ She scoffed in her mind.

"She needs to be alone Tom." Kacey stated, beginning to walk back to the house.

"No, what she needs is a friend to be there for her. I can't believe you let her just go Kacey! She's your best friend! Our best friend!" he accused, stopping her in the middle of the sidewalk.

Kacey glared at Tom. "What did you want me to do? Just force her to stay when she obviously doesn't want to?"

"If that was the case, yes!" Tom threw his hands up. "We have to find her!"

Kacey grabbed his arm. "Let it be Tom." She hissed. "Christine was adamant about her choice, and we're not going to force her into anything. We're her friends… she'll come to us when she needs us."

Tom opened his mouth to protest.

"Please," Kacey said more quietly now. "Let's not fight… she'll be alright. Christine is a strong girl Tom." He looked at her face and didn't want to argue anymore than she did. He gave in, nodding. "How is Raoul?"

He nodded in the direction of the house and police. "Guess we better go help the fool."

Kacey nodded, and with his arm wrapped around her shoulders tightly, and a kiss to the side of her head, they headed for the house.

xoxo

Christine wiped away some of the tears with her arm, the other carrying her stiletto heels as she climbed up the hill on the edge of the city.

It was a spot she hadn't been to in quite the longest time. When she had been younger, she had come to a cliff that looked out on a certain area of Manhattan, enjoying the scenic and picturesque view it had to offer. She had taken comfort in the solitude it provided… no one being there to judge her as she had so come to be accustomed to.

Her anger had bubbled and dissolved away by this point, and she was left with an overwhelming feeling of gloom and misery.

She sniffled as she pushed her way further up the hill, almost reaching the top. As she neared, she began to see the beautiful view; the city lay underneath the black and navy blue skies which were matted with a blanket of a thousand stars.

Her tears came stronger as she remembered all the times she had been up there. It was the one spot Raoul or anyone else, did not know of… and that was how she wanted to keep it. It was a place where she could get away… the skyscraper had once been that, but Raoul knew of that too. Then there was the morning with the beach… but Erik knew that one.

She felt even more depressed at the thought of Erik. She missed him for some reason. She admitted that perhaps she had a tad bit of a crush on him… "I don't love him like I love Raoul though."

And Raoul… well things were rocky between them; and now more than ever, since he had managed to hit her. She knew he hadn't meant to… but that still didn't change the fact that he did. He never listened to her when she told him not to fight and called for him to come to her. She wouldn't have been embarrassed or ashamed if he hadn't fought.

Would Erik have fought?

She finally reached the top, and made her way to a huge cliff. She sat on the midst of a huge rock, her bear feet dangling in mid air as she looked out across the lit city, which resonating millions of tiny lights.

She couldn't help but think of her father and things he would say to her when she was down. _"Christine, when the world pushes you down… you know you can always stand back up again."_

"It hurts sometimes to stand up though." She muttered.

What would her father have done in her place?

xoxo

"You stupid fool!" Kacey yelled at Raoul as the police yanked him and Paul off the muddy wet lawn. "What's wrong with you?" she screeched.

Tom grabbed a hold of his girlfriend's arm. "Calm down Kacey… let him have some air."

"Air?" she rounded on Tom. "He doesn't deserve air! Now Christine is off all miserable because he is a dumb ass retard!"

"I know… I know." Tom calmed her down. He held her shoulder. "Right now though, is not the time to be condemning him. Let's just get him out of here and we'll deal with it later."

The police quickly talked to the owners of the house and quickly shooed the crowds of people right on out of there.

"And you're sure you're alright?" Kacey asked the groaning Raoul for the umpteenth time after the police had let him off with a warning. Now they were in Tom's car, taking Raoul home. She looked from the front of the car to the back, where he sat.

He nodded, holding his head. "I'm fine Kace… really."

"Good." She leaned back and whacked him really hard in the arm. "Now you're not." She hissed when he let out a good yelp.

"What the hell was that for?" he yelled, holding his tender arm.

"You hurt Christine you 'effin idiot!" Kacey yelled.

"Kacey, calm down!" Tom yelled. "I swear I will pull over if you don't sit back in your seat!" he threatened.

"But he's a fool!" she yelled.

"Don't you think I realize that?" Raoul growled, holding his head and his arm.

"A little too late." Kacey muttered. "Now she's out there wandering around in New York! At night!"

"Why would you let her go out there?" Raoul demanded from the back. "You're calling me stupid? We have to find her! You know what they do to people here and you still let her go!"

"I swear, I'm pulling over!" Tom threatened, flicking on the switch.

"Do you think I had a choice? Of course I wouldn't have let her go! But she's a grown woman who can make her own decisions!" Kacey yelled back.

Tom pulled over. "Shut the hell up you two! For God's sakes!"

"Well he's being an 'effin moron Tom!" Kacey turned to Tom.

"And she's being a bimbo!" Raoul turned to Tom.

"My God, can you two hear yourselves?" Tom asked. "You both sound like five year olds. Now listen," he cut them off. "I agree, Christine shouldn't be out there in the middle of the night in New York." He saw Raoul's smug smile. "But Kacey is right, she's a grown woman who can make her own decisions. You will see her tomorrow, so respect her wish to be alone."

Both Raoul and Kacey nodded without saying anything, both feeling annoyed.

"Good," he flicked the signal to turn back into the lane, on. "Let's go then."

The rest of the car ride was silent; Raoul stared out the window into the night-time lit streets, feeling miserable. What had he done?


	18. More Than You Think

A/N: Hiii everyone :) So in February I'll be posting the prologue to my next story XD I'm really excited! :D It's nothing like any of my stories so far... hehe.

And next week, Jan 29, I'm turning 17! So excited :D Um so, please read and review, that's all I ask of you :D

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 18: More than you Think.

The Microwave beeped, signalling that its contents were now finished. With a slight hum reverberating in her throat, Lilliana moved across the kitchen, setting some plates down atop of the stove and moving towards the microwave.

She stood on the tips of her toes, pulling the corn out, and moving back towards the stove, dumping its contents into a pan filled with boiling water.

She smiled a bit, preparing a nice dinner for her favourite man; Erik.

She glanced at the clock and squinted, her eyes, looking hard at the red digit numbers. They appeared blurry, causing her to rub them and look harder. But to no avail, she felt almost blind.

Erik had been telling her for years that she should go and get her eyes checked out by a doctor. She argued… not wanting to admit that she was getting older, and needed help from an object. She didn't like accepting help from others, she was usually the one who gave the help. I guess that was why humility was a part of the Catholic faith.

Forgetting about the ruthless time, she moved back to the stove, going to check on the roast she was cooking.

She paused though, when she heard the doorbell ring. She looked back at the time, wondering who could be here at this time, but ground her teeth when she remembered that she couldn't check the time.

She moved towards the front entrance hall, throwing her oven mitts onto the countertop. She looked out the side window, and inwardly gasped when she that girl from before standing on her porch. At first she considered not opening the door, but knew Erik would be angry with her if he were to find out.

She pulled the door open, and was greeted with the tear streaked puffy face of Christine, who was standing there freezing, completely drenched by the heavy rain. Not to mention the huge ugly marking around her eye. It looked like someone had taken a good whack to her face.

"Hi – I'm so sorry." Christine said quickly, when she was met face to face with the woman who seemed to already hate her. "I… I just came to see if Erik was here." She said immediately. "I… I was in the neighbourhood and… and…" she started to break down crying.

Lilliana panicked, and quickly put her arm around the girl, ushering her inside. "Here, come inside before you catch your death." She turned into mother mode not even realizing her huge dislike towards the girl. "I hope you know Erik isn't home…" she trailed off, but then she realized she had pulled that line last time, and that hadn't worked quite to her liking. "He's out doing something business related, but should be home tonight. Would you like some tea? I have herbal and any other flavour you would like…"

Christine nodded numbly, caught off guard by the woman's pleasant attitude towards her.

"Would you like herbal? Orange Pekoe? Lemon? I have it all sweetie." She smiled, setting her down on the couch in the den, and picking up a thick blanket from the arm chair and draping it around Christine in a most motherly manner.

Christine smiled gently. "Herbal is just fine, thank you."

Lilliana opened her mouth, wanting to say more, but she recalled dinner and hurried back into the kitchen, attending to it while she prepared Christine her tea.

She peered over the bar and into the den every so often, wondering what had happened to Christine. _One of her boyfriends abusive?_ She thought to herself as she diced carrots.

After the dinner was well on its way and the kettle had given its shrill cry, she got Christine's tea ready and even put a warm oozy cinnamon roll onto her plate, the gorgeous smell wafting through the air, turning Christine's head when Lilliana came into the room with the platter.

"You really didn't have to…" Christine protested, feeling like she was doing far too much for her. "I should probably be leaving soon anyways." She stated, not at all wanting to leave. She felt an odd sense of comfort in Erik's house, and desperately wanted to see the familiar masked man.

"Pish posh," Lilliana said immediately, setting the tray down on the coffee table before her. "You'll stay for dinner with Erik and me."

Christine smiled at her genuinely, feeling oddly at content even with this woman around.

Lilliana sat down on the stool across from her. "If it's alright, may I ask what happened?"

Christine smiled weakly, silent tears spilling down her face. She wanted to talk about it with someone, but was kind of afraid to betray Raoul; he was still her best friend and boyfriend right? What he had done hadn't been intentional, so it wasn't that bad, right?

Lilliana saw her expression and quickly spoke, "It's alright, you don't have to tell me if it makes you feel uncomfortable." She smiled. "Let me grab a warm rag and let's clean you off." She was already on her feet despite her frail body's protesting. She chose to ignore it though.

"Lilliana," Christine spoke, causing Lilliana to stop and look at her, an odd look a lit in her eyes. "T... thank, you."

Lilliana smiled, feeling somewhat odd, but happy at the same time. She got up and grabbed a clean dish cloth from the kitchen. Soaking it in hot water, she brought it back and pulled a stool closer to Christine. "Is it too hot?" she asked in concern when she first pressed it to Christine's face.

Christine shook her head, and just let the feel of the warm wet cloth embrace her, the nice feeling washing over her face as it pressed against her swollen eye.

"That sure is one heck of a shiner." Lilliana noted, smiling slightly. "Bar fight?" she asked.

Christine smiled, laughter glinting in her eyes, but shook her head.

"Cat fight with a girlfriend?"

Again, another shake of the head.

"Abusive boyfriend?"

Christine's smile quickly faded, and turned into a deep frown.

Lilliana saw the look, and quickly made light of the situation. "I take it you're accident prone and walked into a door then." She laughed.

Christine couldn't help but laugh as well. She was amazed at how at ease she was in Lilliana's presence. This woman had scared at first, making it quite clear what she thought of her, but here she was, being kind and tending to her wounds.

"There," Lilliana said biting her tongue, "You're just about cleaned up. All trace of blood is gone." She smiled. "Thought that shiner is going to be there for a few days. Might want to get a cap or you can tell everyone about that awful door you walked into." She grinned.

Christine jolted forward a bit when she felt her cell phone vibrating, the tune coming out sharp. She flipped it open and scowled when it read Raoul's name across the screen. She quickly flipped it shut again, and looked back up at Lilliana. "Someone I'd rather not deal with."

"Oh," Lilliana got it.

There was an awkward silence, till Lilliana spoke again, honestly interested. "So how exactly did you meet Erik?" she looked at Christine, curiosity burning in her older face.

She suddenly recalled Monique. "_…he already had a girl's number on his arm!"_ Lilliana looked Christine over. This had been the girl that had written on Erik's arm. Why wasn't she afraid of Erik? She realized how cruel she sounded, but then most people didn't accept Erik…

Christine smiled gently, a twinkle playing in her eyes as if she were hiding some great secret. "It's kind of weird…" she started.

Lilliana looked at her in curiosity. How strange could it possibly be? "Tell me." She encouraged, her curiosity now completely peaked.

Christine took a quick sip of her steaming tea, and pushed it against her cheek, just sighing. "Well, it was actually in the morning in a storm at about I think, three in the morning." She looked at Lilliana's face, watching her expression. "My boyfriend had just proposed to me…"

That caught her attention, and she shifted from the stool, onto the couch, showing her interest. "I take it you know about Erik's proposal as well…? And how that went?"

"Yeah," Christine chuckled. "Ironically enough, it happened the same evening mine did. It's kind of what led to us meeting…"

"A proposal?"

"Well we kind of met in a depressing sort of way I suppose, but I truly do owe him a lot." She smiled into her cup, remembering that morning fondly, as if it had just happened yesterday, and not the weeks ago…

"What's the date?" suddenly it had completely slipped her mind.

"Tuesday, December eleventh." She replied immediately.

"Oh my God…" it suddenly clicked in her mind. "It's almost Christmas." And she had all her shopping left to do… "Oh no!" she groaned.

Lilliana sighed. "That it is. I still have to do all my baking."

"I still have to buy all my gifts!" she was panicking now.

Lilliana placed one of her cool cold hands on Christine's arm in a soothing manner. "Calm down… you've had a rough night. You'll have plenty of time."

Christine began making a mental list in her mind of who she needed to shop for now. _Well there's definitely Raoul… Kacey and Tom of course. I have to get one for Erik and my Aunt Grace… and maybe I should get one for Erik's mom. _She smiled at her thoughts. _Yeah, definitely Lilliana as well._

"Already deciding who to get presents for?" Lilliana asked.

Christine looked back at her in shock. "How do you always know what I'm thinking?"

Lilliana laughed. "Your emotions are expressed all over your face when you think."

Christine blushed a bit. "Guess I'm kinda like a book…" she laughed. "So yeah, Erik kinda more or less saved me that morning. I think he thought I was committing suicide… but I might have been… just emotionally, if that makes any sense at all."

She smiled. "You know what, it does."

Christine curled tightly into the embrace of the blanket, feeling relieved Raoul did not know where she was. She actually felt… safe. "Thank you so much." She said for the umpteenth time that day.

Her gaze was drawn to the window. She noticed how dark it had gotten in the past few hours. The rain was still horribly strong outside; worry lingering in her that Erik would be safe driving home in that. "I hope he'll be ok." Christine whispered.

Lilliana looked to the window and beyond when she heard Christine say that. Worry filled her too. "You really care about him, don't you?" she suddenly asked. Her eyes searched Christine. Perhaps she had underestimated this girl…

Christine smiled. "Yeah, yeah I do." She twisted the blanket in her hands. "He's always been my rock…" she trailed off, wishing she could trust Raoul as much as she did Erik. Even though they had known each other for this short of a time, she felt she could trust him with almost anything. It was such a nice feeling.

Lilliana said nothing, not sure how to feel towards the statement. She was glad that Erik had a few people who truly cared about him… but on the other hand, she didn't want her compromising anything between him and Monique, only to find that she doesn't feel the same way about Erik.

Changing the subject, Lilliana quickly said, "So tell me about your life growing up."

Christine's face flushed ever so slightly. "Well I actually lived in Alberta –" she paused when she felt her cell phone vibrate. She pulled it out and flipped it open.

"_Christine, plz call me. Need 2 talk." _The text message was from Raoul. She found several others by him, pleading with her to reconcile. She ignored them and angrily shut the cell phone away.

Lilliana saw this, but chose to say nothing, interested in this girl's life.

"I grew up with my father and only moved here when he grew more ill; too ill to take care of me properly." She sighed. "He passed away and my Aunt Grace raised me. And that basically concludes my life." She paused. "Well other than being in university right now." She saw Lilliana's look. "I want to be a journalist."

A look of surprise appeared on her face. "A journalist you say?"

Christine nodded eagerly. "Oh I love writing! And telling stories!" a twinkle shone in her eye, making Lilliana hope that Christine accomplished it ever more. She was glad at least that Christine was someone who wasn't in the business career path like Monique and Erik… it seemed like something fresh and original.

But just taking one quick glance at Christine, she knew Christine wouldn't be meant for that life choice; Christine seemed to be energetic and always bursting with happiness. You could tell she wouldn't wear business pant suits or anything to that degree… no, journalism suited her; it reflected her attitude.

"You know, I think journalism is perfect for you."

"Really?" for some reason, a compliment like that from her seemed genuine and the best compliment possible beside's Erik's. "You really think so? I mean Erik said something like that too…"

She smiled. "Erik is a very intelligent man. When he points something out like that to you, you know it's correct. He's very good at analyzing people and deciphering them."

Christine smiled. "I'm glad. Thank you, that really means a lot." She took a sip of the tea.

Whatever she had thought before of Lilliana, she took it back. Tonight, she had seen another side of the woman; a very caring and honest side. She cared about the ones she loved, and if you were good enough to be chosen by her, you knew she'd stick by you and love you no matter what. Not to mention how nice it felt to have a motherly figure in her life… she had never really had that before. Aunt Grace tried…

Lilliana smiled at the beautiful Christine; she was a perfect and sweet woman. She was glad Erik had befriended someone so sweet and full of life. She felt horrible for judging the girl so quickly and so negatively before… it was so uncharitable and un-catholic.

"I'm sorry for before Christine."

"What do you mean?"

"I was so cold and mean to you before; you didn't deserve that." She started.

"It's alright, I understand –"

"No," Lilliana interjected, determined for Christine to hear her apology and accept it. "I just worry about Erik sometimes… because of his face… I don't want him to get hurt… and he is in love with another girl, and I was afraid you were after his money… and may destroy what he has… It's unforgivable."

Christine felt her stomach drop at the mention of his girlfriend, but shoved it aside. Now was not the time to be contemplating and getting confused over her feelings. "It's truly alright Lilliana, I understand. You had every reason to worry, but now you don't. I care about Erik and I would never hurt him." _Never… more than you think._ She thought.

Lilliana smiled genuinely.

They were both silent for a few seconds, when they heard the door slam.

xoxo

Erik flicked the turn signal on and turned the corner. He felt annoyance bubble through him as he just thought about everything.

The business meeting hadn't gone as well as he hoped. He could see the worry that evaded them as they looked into his masked face. He thought being successful would make things easier… but he couldn't ignore the fact that his mask and deformity terrified others.

It didn't help that his life was muddled with problems with Monique… and confusions erupted with Christine.

Last night Monique had proposed to him and he had been the one to say 'no' this time. He didn't even know why; shouldn't he be overjoyed by this notion? But he was so confused… to the point he was overdoing it with the Tylenol. Monique was a pretty, mature and successful woman.

And there was Christine; the sweet, funny, beautiful and carefree girl who seemed to accept him for who he was, and actually wanted his company. She never expected anything from him, just wanting his company. He slowly admitted to himself that there may be a slight crush lingering…

"No." he stated. "I won't do this to myself." He wasn't going to let his simple and petty crush that he had finally admitted to, destroy everything. One, she may not feel that way… "I love how that is my first reason." He said to himself sarcastically. Two, it could confuse everything, and three, he did love Monique…

Pulling into the driveway of his grand suburban home, he undid his seatbelt, sighing as he clasped his hands onto the steering wheel, trying to gain control of himself. He wouldn't fight this demon right now.

"No," he started, "I will not relive that maybe kiss either." He declared angrily when he almost let himself think about that moment on the skyscraper with her.

Grabbing his suitcase, he got out of the Saturn Sky and made his way along the little path Lilliana had created, to the front door. He jiggled his keys, and fumbled around, getting them inside the lock of the front door.

As he entered the warm and familiar home with its familiar and homey scent, he set down his suitcase and shook off his trench coat, hanging it on a hanger. His face frowned though when he heard an unfamiliar sound; two women laughing and chatting in the den.

He moved in, only to find the odd sight of Christine under his blanket on the couch, chatting along happily and laughing with his mother.

"Erik, you're home!" Lilliana gasped. She looked at the grand father clock. "I didn't even notice the time slip by…" she admitted. "It's wonderful to have you home honey!" she looked back at Christine. "And Christine is visiting." She smiled, sipping her tea.

Erik looked back at Christine who was smiling and waving slightly at him. His eyes were drawn to her eye, which was graced with a big ugly circle around it, the eye looking a bit swollen. He suddenly felt angry and horrible; it was obvious Christine had come to see him and seek security, but he hadn't been there for her!

"What happened?" he demanded, moving on lithe feet and standing over her, looking at her eye, holding her head in his hand really gently. He ran a finger over the eye and ground his teeth when she flinched. "What happened?"

She opened her eye and looked into his. Opening her mouth she just sighed, but said nothing.

Suddenly her cell phone ring tone went off and she could feel her cell phone vibrating again. She pulled it out despite his face lingering right in front of her, and looked at it.

"Is it him?" he demanded. He saw her face and knew. "It's him." He ground. "Give me the cell phone."

"Erik I'm fine…"

"He was the one who hit you, didn't he." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Erik…"

"That bastard." He cursed.

Lilliana watched this scene, feeling like a third wheel, witnessing something kind of intense happen right before her eyes. She quietly got up and left, deciding to leave the two alone…

"Christine no, this isn't right!" he yelled.

Christine grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him to sit down next to her on the couch. She pulled some of the blanket off of her and threw it on him as well. She hugged him and let herself begin weeping.

"Tell me what happened." He whispered after a few moments of letting her cry on him.

He didn't care anymore about his rule about getting too close to her and letting his feelings get stronger, he was angry and she was upset, and he was going to take care of her. Maybe through this all, he could find out what she felt for him…

And then it clicked; maybe this was what he needed! Why hadn't he thought of it before? If he could find out what Christine felt for him, maybe he could decide what would happen with him and Monique and what he was going to choose…

She hiccupped for a second, sniffling. "Well Tom, Kacey and I were going to a party… when Raoul showed up." She decided she'd tell him anyways. What did she have to lose? And she truly did want to talk about it with someone… "Tom invited him along and everything was fine…" she continued.

Erik listened intently, determined to know everything.

"But a slow dance came and I dunno… I've been feeling weird lately… like I can't explain why, but I feel weird when he touches me…" she saw his look. "I mean like holding hands or kissing."

He breathed again. But his ears perked up at her words. She didn't like it when he touched her? But she didn't mind him…?

At the same time, Lilliana kept cooking, but listened intently as well, desperately wanting to know what was wrong, and watching exactly how the two interacted…

"So I made an excuse to leave… but Kacey followed and knocked some sense into me, so I decided to at least try with Raoul…"

Erik felt annoyance towards Kacey at that moment.

"But another guy was showing an interest in me and Raoul got jealous… and oh, it got terrible after that." She buried her eyes in his knitted vest. "They got into verbal fighting, and before you know it, it broke into actual fighting. And I know he didn't mean to… but when I kept repeating, trying to stop him, he thought I was the guy and hit me." She started to sob.

He was furious. "That is no excuse; if he were a real man, he would have stopped and put you first." He grounded out. _Like I would have done._ He felt the desperate need to say it, but decided to hold his tongue. No, Christine had to admit to him first.

She hiccupped again. "I know, thank you Erik." She whispered. "Thanks for letting me invade your home and time… and putting up with my melodramatic soap opera life." She smiled through her tears.

He laughed. "Say no more, life is so tedious and boring without gossip or who is sleeping with whom."

Christine burst out laughing. "I knew you'd make it better." She grinned. "Is it ok if I stay here the night? I… I don't want to intrude…" inside she laughed, realizing the time she had come over to wallow in the morning without even asking him.

Things had definitely changed since then. Erik had changed. He seemed to act and treat her differently, in her opinion. She didn't at all though, as he was still a wonderful man who listened to her lame sob stories, went along with her lame attempts at fun, and even pretended to laugh at her pathetic humour.

"No, go right on and invade."

She laughed; she knew this had been a good idea; and bonus, now her and Lilliana had even forged a somewhat friendship in the process. "I'm really glad to have you Erik; you're the best friend I could ever ask for."

He froze and his heart lurched; friend? Was that all she thought of him as? "Friend?" he queried, suddenly feeling sick.

Christine giggled. "Would you like to be something more…?" she joked, leaning closer. Well she had joked a tiny bit, but somewhere deep down, she honestly wished for something more. He was sweet, kind, handsome…

"I… I…" he started, leaning down, closer to her parting lips…

Christine's eyes began to close, her mind and heart not understand and just plain forgetting the world as they awaited him…

"Dinner's ready!"

The two quickly broke apart.


	19. Baked Goods

A/N: So as you can see, I posted my third story! :D Makes me so excited XD. lol. Please read and review it as well, as I tried really hard with that one... even planning the corresponding dates to _when _it was posted (Friday the 13th ;)) and _future_ post dates. I swear to God, everything was planned with that story :D. It was a lot of fun though... I must say!

But don't neglect this story, because I have big plans for it too! :) So please and review, that's all I ask of you!

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 19: Baked Goods.

"That was wonderful Lilliana, thank you." Christine politely thanked her, as she laid her fork down on the plate, and pushed the plate slightly away from her, and her chair from the table. She took her cloth napkin, and placed it on the table.

For some reason she was trying much harder to impress Lilliana now.

"That was mother." Erik agreed. He smiled at his mother and then over at Christine, who was perched across the table from him.

He still couldn't believe this moment in time; he was having dinner with his mother and Christine, and everything was going well. The two were joking, laughing and even sharing stories about their lives, along with a bit of gossip about him… but if it made everything better, he was ok with letting them bond at his expense.

Lilliana smiled up at her son, and then over at Christine. It had been quite the meal; mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots and corn, a salad with ever vinaigrette and dressing sitting on the table (because she didn't know what Christine's preferences were) a fully roasted chicken, every form of wine and liquor substances on the bar, to which Erik was choosing for the occasion. There was even ambrosia in the fridge…

Christine flashed her pearly whites. "You honestly did not have to do that for me Lilliana. This was all much too elaborate."

"Nonsense," Lilliana tsked, as she got up from the table and began collecting the dishes, pushing any leftover bits onto one plate, and placing the entire used cutlery on the top plate as well. "It was no problem, and I rather enjoyed it." She stopped by Erik and squeezed his shoulder. "I wanted to do something nice for him anyways." She gazed lovingly at her son.

She was happy for him; he had made a very nice friend indeed. She was sweet, kind, random at times, but wasn't forceful, or anything like a businesswoman, to which she was rather used to.

"Here," Christine jumped to her feet. "Let me help you."

Lilliana set all the dishes down on the counter top and turned on the faucet at the sink to get the water running. "No, no, you're a guest, and Erik's friend. Just go sit with him, I'll do it."

Christine frowned. "Are you sure?" she noticed that while Erik's mother could obviously handle herself, she appeared kind of sick… her face was a bit flushed and pale, and she seemed to quiver a bit. And for a second there, it seemed she had to clutch the edge of the counters to stabilize her.

Christine shook her head though; she didn't want to be a bother either. Going to find Erik, she already spotted him on the either side of the bar in the den, fixing himself up something.

"What would you care for?" he asked as she came in and flopped down on the couch.

"I dunno, anything." She laughed.

"Well here's anything." He said, turning around and setting her drink down on the table in front of her. "Just a martini, kind of reminded me of you."

"I remind you of a martini?" she questioned.

"Yes – I mean no." he went red. "I just, I dunno, because, because you work in a club I guess." He went redder.

"It's ok," she laughed. "I understand." She sat up now and grabbed her drink and sipped on it for a second, before pulling out the olive and popping it in her mouth.

"So would you like the guest room before?" he asked, not sure what to say.

She smiled. "That'd be wonderful, thank you Erik.

Erik blushed, knowing that his thoughts about the matter were a lot less nice… and a bit dirtier. He'd never in a million years own up to that though; someone would have to hold him at gun point.

"So tell me about you and Monique Erik, it seems we only talk about me." Christine chuckled. "I take it everything is going well?" it was more of a statement than a question though, and only Christine detected a bit of stoniness to it.

Erik paused for a second, before looking about the room. Lilliana was only a few square feet away from them, and only a half wall and bar divided them. "Come," he beckoned, leading her outside of the house and onto the veranda.

"Why are we coming out here Erik?" she asked, as he shut the sliding door behind them.

She walked to the end and held onto the bar of the railing. She looked up at the dark matted skies, sighing, wondering if Raoul was panicking about her. What would she say to him next time she saw him? What would she tell Kacey and Tom where she went to and why?

Erik looked at Christine seriously. "I saw Monique a few days ago."

Christine turned and looked at him, feeling cold suddenly.

"She proposed." He stated.

Christine felt her heart sink suddenly. "Wha… what did you say?" she choked.

Erik completely missed Christine's reaction as he turned and faced the direction of the trees on the balcony. He swirled the wine around in his glass that he had brought with him. "Honestly?" he asked, looking over at her. She nodded. "I said no."

Christine's eyes widened as she looked at him. His answer had come so… bluntly. As if the whole problem of him proposing to her and her rejecting him, had never happened. She was so stunned, she didn't even say anything. What should she say? She was sorry? Why would she be sorry?

Erik stared at her for a few moments, just waiting for the inevitable "I'm sorry" to come from her, but she stayed silent and stared into her martini. Erik admired how the lights from the house reflected the mass amounts of curls that graced her head. Her face shone even in the horrid lighting. Even her curves…

He was cut off from those thoughts as Christine suddenly out of nowhere, embraced him.

"Christine?" he questioned.

"I don't want to say I'm sorry for you." She said softly into his shoulder. Before he could reply to her statement she said quickly, "Because I know what it feels like to hear that from someone. They can't change anything, and they probably don't even know anything." She pulled back and looked him deeply in the eyes. "Erik, you are my friend… and I truly love you for everything you've done and become in my life. I wouldn't be the strong person I am now if it weren't for you. I'm not going to prod, but I respect all your choices you make, and I'm here to listen no matter what."

Erik's heart practically fell when she said "friend", but he ignored it, just relieved to have such a beautiful and perfect friend. Was it possible he had finally found the perfect woman?

Christine smiled softly, and ran her hand along his bare cheek, just smiling contently. She silently said that she would support him on _everything_, be it relationships or his face, which she was genuinely there for him.

Erik didn't even have time to react to everything going on around him, as suddenly everything seemed to be going in a fast, blurry motion. Maybe it had been the setting, but he would never be quite sure.

Her eyes closing and vice versa, Christine leaned towards Erik, forgetting absolutely everything.

And then her cell phone went off.

Her eyes flashed open as quickly as they had shut, and she was pulling her cell phone out, going bright red. Erik just stood and watched, feeling extremely uncomfortable and irked.

"It's just a text message." She said before he could ask, "From Raoul."

"What?" he snapped.

She looked at him and smiled softly once more. "He's begging me to come home…" she trailed off. Seeing his eyes, she said quickly, "But I'm not replying or going to!"

Before Erik could reply, Lilliana opened the sliding door. "Christine, I know this is going to sound strange and all…" she blushed, "but I was wondering if you'd like to help me bake some Christmas goodies. I promise you can take some home too. It's just that, Christmas is not to far away, and with the family get together coming soon…"

Erik felt his hands tighten at the thought of the family Christmas party.

"That'd be positively wonderful!" Christine exclaimed, suddenly all giddy and having forgotten Raoul's text message. "Erik, you have to help!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand, which immediately loosened up as her small hand encased his.

Lilliana looked at him.

"I don't bake." He responded.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Well you're going to!" and she dragged him into the house.

Lilliana looked at the comical scene and laughed. This would be one interesting night.

xoxo

Christine laughed as she smeared icing down Erik's good side of his nose. She giggled as the white icing clung to him. Erik at first gave her a disgusted look, but was laughing equally as hard as he smeared it all down her face.

"You didn't just…" Christine giggled, trying to sound serious, but was failing miserably. "Oh my God!" she yelled when he ran his fingers through it and smeared it down her shirt. She looked down at her ruined shirt and eyed him angrily. You are going to pay for this!"

She grabbed a handful and threw it smack at his expensive shirt.

He threw it back in turn, and before he knew it, she was smearing it all over part of his face.

"What are you doing?" Lilliana gasped, coming back in from using the restroom. She went and stood in between them, but Erik had already hurled some icing, and it landed on Lilliana's shirt. Christine watched in shock, but tried stifling a giggle. "Erik!" Lilliana screeched, glaring at him. "You two are acting like five year olds!" she couldn't believe Erik was even behaving this way. It was completely out of character for him.

She looked at Erik and then Christine, who were both covered in icing. She sighed, feeling like she was reprimanding a couple of little kids. "You might want to get changed."

"But this is all I have." Christine pulled at her icing engraved sweater, and then stuck her tongue out at Erik. "This is Erik's fault."

"Hey, you started it!" but he smiled, and she smiled too.

Lilliana shook her head. "Just borrow a pair of Erik's sweats that he doesn't want anyone to know he owns, and one of his shirts. I'm sure he can live without them in the meantime."

Christine and Erik nodded, leaving the kitchen. She took the liberty and shoved him as they walked down the hall. Erik pushed her back, the two giggling.

As they bashed each other up and down the hall, the sound of holiday music filled the home, as Lilliana had turned the stereo on and put some holiday tunes into it. _Jingle Bell Rock_ was the first song to sound.

Lilliana went to work making a new batch of icing, and deciding to throw some colour dye in it, and make red icing. She wanted to make some sugar cookies in various holiday shapes, and put some _smarties_ on them, one of her traditional Christmastime cookies.

She smiled, reliving their banter in her head as she cleaned up the icing off the floor and the rest of the mess the two had created. She had never seen such… chemistry between two people before.

She didn't want to admit just how much she was enjoying being around Christine in such a short amount of time… and how she was already making pro and con charts between her and Monique. She knew it wasn't fair…

She smiled as she felt Erik come up and kiss her on the cheek. She looked around. "Where's Christine?"

Erik rolled his eyes in a playful way. "She's in my bedroom picking out her favourite outfit to wear. She says she wants to be trendy while she bakes."

Lilliana laughed, loving Christine's attitude and behaviour. She seemed to lighten up situations. "Well in any case, you can get to work." She handed him some cookie cutters. "Start by making out cookie shapes by using this. You just push it into the dough like this…" she proceeded to show him.

"Believe it or not, I actually do know how to make cookie shapes Lilliana."

She smiled. "Good, then show me."

The two worked side by side silently, till Christine walked in holding her cell open, reading it. "What are you reading?" Erik asked.

Christine looked up and seemed a tad out of it. "Just another text message from Raoul." she quickly put her phone away, not daring to look at Erik's eyes, or have his catch hers. "So what are we baking?" she decided to change the subject.

Lilliana piped in as she kneaded some dough. "Sugar smarty cookies, butter tarts, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and maybe haystacks. We'll decorate them for Christmas of course."

Christine smiled. "Oh, you know what butter tarts are!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know they had those here!"

"They don't, just one of my sisters lives up in Toronto and she had the family Christmas party there for once, and they were a huge hit."

Christine smiled. "I haven't had butter tarts in forever! Well since I was about six… which was like twenty years ago… holy crap I'm old." she laughed.

Erik smiled, watching her giggle and goof around, totally comfortable with everything. He made sure to focus on his task at hand though, and cut the dough in shapes of stars and Christmas trees.

"You know… you should buy Nanaimo bars. Those are definitely a classic." Christine added as she stole some of Erik's dough and ate it.

"Nanaimo bars… I don't believe I've had those for a long time." Lilliana responded, putting the cut out shaped dough into the oven.

Christine laughed, dumping a huge bag of chocolate chips into the chocolate chip cookie dough. She mixed them up with her hands and squeezed them into tiny balls, placing them on metal trays ready to go into the oven.

"I used to live off them at Christmastime when I was a kid. So I take it the Christmas party is being held at Erik's house this year?"

She saw the sudden look of disgust come onto Erik's face, and took that as a yes.

"Um, well yes…" Lilliana responded, looking at Erik as well. "It'll be nice not having to drive in the snow… right Erik?"

He just nodded, his mouth set in a thin line. He knew, and Lilliana knew very well just how much he _liked_ his family or when they came to visit.

"Well Monique is also coming this year." Lilliana spoke, trying to lighten Erik's mood and the tension he was suddenly giving off. She was so overjoyed Monique had agreed to come; the family wouldn't dare make remarks around Erik's girlfriend, and it would show them that a pretty girl could love Erik.

Christine said nothing, feeling suddenly depressed at the mention of Monique.

"What are you doing for Christmas, Christine?" Lilliana asked, trying to break the silence that suddenly hung in the air.

Christine smiled weakly. "Nothing really… probably go over to my Aunt's house with my boyfriend. I don't really have any family…"

"Oh," Lilliana said softly. "You have us."

Christine looked up and smiled gratefully. "Yes… I do." she took Erik's hand under the island counter they were working at, and squeezed his hand, showing how happy she was.

Lilliana took the final tray to be baked and put it into the oven after the next batch of trays were complete. As she did so, Christine's cell phone went off.

"Is he texting you again?" Erik snapped, glaring at the little electronic device in her hand, that was ringing as it received a message.

Lilliana looked at him in a bit of shock at his attitude; she had never seen him this snappy before… at least not over something like that.

Christine turned slightly crimson, looking down at her phone, quickly reading the message. It was basically Raoul apologizing profusely once again.

She nodded slightly though, answering Erik's demand.

Christine took a breath, feeling like texting him back. She had calmed down now, and felt horrible making Raoul so worried about her. She knew that what had happened, wasn't intentional. He loved her and she… _I love Raoul too._ She finally concluded in her mind.

Standing up, she walked out of the kitchen, typing her message into her phone.

Erik stood up too, about to follow Christine and demand what the hell she was doing. But Lilliana stepped in, "Don't Erik, let her deal with it."

"But she's making the wrong-"

"It's her decision, and her life Erik." Lilliana stated softly, taking hold of his wrist. "You have to let her control and steer her life the way she sees fit." she smiled faintly, happy to see Erik care about someone so much.

He shook her off and moved to the window in a huff. He was annoyed because she was right. He didn't want her to be right. He didn't want Christine to go back to her lame pathetic boyfriend. He wanted her to… he wanted her to come to him!

He froze, realizing what he truly wanted. Was it possible he actually wanted Christine for himself? That he was falling in love with this silly, beautiful, brunette?

He moved out of the kitchen, ignoring Lilliana's nagging words, and moved quietly down the hall, against a wall next to the balcony Christine had went outside and stood on. He listened to her speak, holding his breath…

"I'm sorry I left like that." Christine spoke calmly and apologetically into the phone and crisp cold air. She could see her breath in the night-time air. She wouldn't be too surprised if the first great snowfall happened soon.

Erik clenched his teeth, hoping against hope…

"I love you too Raoul." Christine said softly, as she absentmindedly ran her finger against the railing of the banister of the balcony she stood on. "I'm at a friend's house." she paused. "Um, a friend from work… you know… Jessica."

Erik's fist clenched as he heard her lie to her pretty boy. _Figures._ He barked in his mind.

"I'll be home soon Raoul… we can see each other tomorrow and we can go to _22 Water Street_, our spot." she giggled.

Erik pushed away from the wall in anger; he had heard enough. He should have known that night she had taken him there meant nothing… that she would return to her boyfriend. He knew deep down he shouldn't be expecting so much from her or have gotten so emotionally involved…

Erik pulled his own cell phone out and hit number two speed dial, the familiar sound of the phone ringing as it tried to find its connection, filled his ears as he waited patiently, not even knowing what he was doing.

"Hello?" Monique's familiar voice answered.

"Monique… It's Erik." he replied in a firm and confident business voice he used when put into an awkward spot. "I was hoping we could have dinner soon."


	20. Dinner

Chapter 20: Dinner.

_Friday December 14, 2007._

_6:04 PM._

Erik smoothed out the lapels of his finely tailored jacket and wiped away any form of dust and other debris off his jacket as he looked himself over in the floor length mirror.

He nodded; everything seemed to be going status quo…. well, except the mask. "I guess it will be as good as it'll ever get." He stared at his reflection, feeling defeated.

Tonight he would see Monique since _her proposal_. They were going to a semi-casual restaurant, but Erik still liked to maintain his image and keep up his sharp look. He wasn't sure what was going to go down tonight, but he hoped it would result in something not downright terrible like last time.

He made a fist as he remembered Christine and what she had said to her little lover boy… her little blonde mommy's boy. He should have known she would go back to him… that she didn't return feelings for him. Why should she? She could have that perfect blonde, six foot one, perfect body and perfect personality man over him; an ugly, reclusive jerk!

"You clean up well." Lilliana smiled from the doorway of Erik's bedroom.

Erik looked at her through the mirror, seeing her leaning against the door frame. "Why are you here? I'm trying to get ready."

She laughed slightly. "A bit overdressed for tonight, are we not? You know, a simple pullover and black jeans would have done the trick."

Erik fixed his tie and sneered. "And pray tell, how do you know what Monique and I are doing this fine evening?" so much sarcasm was dripping from his words, it made her shudder. Before she could even say anything though, he cut in. "Did she call you and fill you in, in all the little details?"

Lilliana frowned. "Why are you so negative Erik?" she paused as she stepped a little into his bedroom. "This doesn't have to do with Christine getting back with her boyfriend, does it?"

Erik said nothing, knowing she had him spot on, and not knowing what to say in response

"Oh, Erik, you should be happy for her! I know what you're thinking… but don't."

"You hit someone once, it can happen again." He growled. He stormed off into his bathroom, feeling the need to splash some water onto his face.

"You know very well that he didn't intend to hit her Erik! Mistakes happen; you must learn to forgive people." She followed him into his washroom.

He put both his hands on the counter besides the sink and jut leaned against the counter, breathing heavily. "Oh mistakes happen… I make the prime example." He snarled, tearing off his mask.

Lilliana gasped before she had the chance to stop herself. She hadn't expected Erik to do such a thing. She hadn't seen beneath his mask since he was a little boy. He made a blatant point of never letting her see him or anyone for that matter. She knew that, that one Christmas when he was little, had forever crushed him. She would never forgive her family for doing such a thing to her poor sweet boy.

"Your reaction was proof enough. Thank you Lilliana, for showing me what I'm really _like._" He said sarcastically, looking at the reflection of his face in the bathroom mirror.

Lilliana silently began to cry now, looking at the distraught man that was her son. She loved him perhaps more than any of her other children. She hated to admit that, not liking to personally pick between any of her children… but Erik was different, and not just physically. Despite the cold exterior he portrayed, she could see the warmth and kindness and the child still in him. Erik could be the sweetest man alive, and really show his love, if only someone would give him the chance; and she knew for a fact, that he would never let her be the one to give it to him.

That was the reason Lilliana loved Monique so much. Monique had proven that she loved Erik, despite that lack of trust Erik gave her, and his anger he showed. Lilliana wasn't even sure anymore, where Erik stood. He had claimed to have loved her at one point, but now he seemed to curve away from her, and towards an already taken woman. She couldn't understand why Erik wouldn't take what Monique was offering, when all he wanted was to be loved.

It didn't get past her that Erik obviously had feelings for Christine. And why wouldn't he? Christine was a downright beautiful girl, with a quirky sweet nature and personality that clearly opposed Erik's. She gave him a run for his money and she made him think when he was around her. When you were around Christine, she knew how to make the atmosphere so much more pleasant, even when she was depressed. She also seemed to accept Erik for his flaws, caring about him despite everything. Lilliana only wished Christine could perhaps feel the same way about him, which he felt for her. At this point, she wouldn't mind Erik choosing Christine over Monique.

Monique had her good points too, but she didn't oppose Erik the way Christine did. Her nature was fairly in tune with his already, so she didn't have Erik always running the way Christine did. Lilliana wouldn't mind if Erik and Monique ended up together either, because she knew Monique would make a good wife.

Lilliana wiped away a few of her tears and said softly, "I think you are very handsome Erik." She breathed. "I just wish you could see it yourself, the way Christine and Monique do."

Erik said nothing; he wasn't sure he was even going to go out with Monique tonight. He didn't even know why he had asked her to begin with. He knew he was upset when Christine had told Raoul she would be with him tonight, so he had gone and done likewise.

"I'm not going." He whispered, leaving the bathroom to go into the kitchen and get a cold glass of water… or better yet, the wine bar for a cold Gin.

"Why Erik? This isn't because of low self esteem is it? Because I know you are better than that." Lilliana followed him. "Monique loves you, and I know you love her back." well, she had her doubts, but now wasn't the time to question it.

"This isn't your place." Erik snapped, grabbing the bottle of Gin.

Lilliana took the bottle from him, and set it down on the nearby dining table. "Yes it is. This isn't about Christine than, is it?"

Erik looked at her in horror, than little by little, anger swallowed up his face. "This is not true!" he roared, getting afraid she'd know too much.

Lilliana was taken aback by his sudden anger and held up her hands. "I'm sorry Erik, I wasn't accusing you, I was just asking." she touched his arm. "I just want you to be happy, and have fun tonight with Monique. Don't worry about such things, ok?" she had no idea about Erik rejecting Monique's proposal thus far.

Erik felt himself calming down, and let his shoulders droop, his hand holding his good side of his face. "Yes, yes, I know."

Lilliana smiled and embraced him, to which he actually obliged. She kissed his mask and whispered, "please have a good time, and be happy; there's no one as special as you Erik."

Oh Erik knew he was special, that was why he couldn't stand himself so much. He wished he was just like everyone else… _just like everyone else; _he knew life would be perfect then.

"You'll go won't you?" Lilliana interrupted the silence, looking into his eyes.

Erik sighed, moving his arms and hands to brush off some dust he saw on his nice jacket. "I suppose." he replied hesitantly, figuring there wasn't anything else that could go wrong tonight.

Lilliana hugged him tightly again. "I'm so glad! I know you'll have fun."

xoxo

Erik walked into the restaurant and looked about; it was a fairly dark lit restaurant, huge red velvet drapes were hanging over all the windows. The carpeting was a burgundy and there were many booths aligning the restaurant, say for the few tables.

"I'm waiting for a lady." Erik spoke hush to the greeter, seeing the startled look that immediately came to his face, not that Erik was surprised.

The man nodded, till Erik suddenly heard his name being yelled.

Erik turned to the sound of Monique's voice. He looked over to one of the corners of the room, where Monique had stood, waving one of her arms, her calling his name.

"And that would be my date." Erik stated to the greeter haughtily, making sure the man knew that he _could _obtain a date with an attractive woman, that he wasn't some kind of a freak eunuch. Without further discussion, Erik walked to her booth, and sat down across from her.

He looked at her, and he would deny it, she was very beautiful tonight. She wore a stunning navy blue cocktail dress, that stopped short above her knees, as he could tell. It shone with the few gemstones that ran along the bodice and spaghetti straps of the dress. It had ruffles all along the bottom, and he could tell it was meant for a party or something to that effect.

"You look magnificent." Erik breathed, but he was picturing something completely different… or someone else.

Monique blushed and muttered a thanks. He wasn't sure if he was forgiven for the last time they were together.

"About last time -"

"Erik I just wanted to -" they both said at the same time.

"You go first." they said in unison, causing Erik to go red, and Monique to laugh slightly. "No, you go first." Monique said to Erik.

Hi fiddled with the napkin and the cutlery, trying hard to say what he had been planning on all night. He couldn't believe this was harder than asking her to marry him. He was even more amazed at what was happening now. His life had taken such a drastic turn… sometimes it all felt like one big dream.

"I wanted to apologize for last time." he said, not elaborating, hoping he wouldn't have to explain what they both already knew. "I wasn't prepared for it I suppose."

Monique faintly smiled, seeing a bit of the old shy Erik she always knew. "It's alright, it was a bit out of nowhere. I'm glad that we're past it though." she took his hand and squeezed it. "I guess I just realized that you are the one for me… and I wanted to be with you so fast, I forgot that you need to take time for these things too."

Erik smiled slightly, not knowing what to say. For some reason, he hadn't expected her to be so understanding. He almost _wished _she was still upset with him.

"Erik?" Monique questioned, wondering why he seemed so dazed.

He looked up confused.

"What are you thinking?"

He looked at her and said distantly, "just thinking."

"Oh," she replied. She felt awkward for some reason. She couldn't get over how awkward it was for some reason. The seconds seem to tick by and their hung an awkward silence between them.

Erik's cell phone began ringing out of no where though and he answered it, relieved to have something to do. "Hello?" he asked, feeling uncomfortable with Monique's eyes on him. "Chris -" he stopped, not wanting to say that name in front of Monique. He knew that she knew of Christine, and that history was a tad rocky.

Monique's eyes seemed to now open and stare at him, and he was sure she had clued in.

"I don't think you did… I'll… I'll check when I get home, but I'm kind of out with my girlfriend…" he purposely made sure to say _girlfriend. _He quickly hung up his cell phone.

"Who was that?" it wasn't much of a question, as more of a demand.

"Just a client." Erik replied, looking at his menu. It felt like ages, and their waiter had yet to come to take their order.

"That was that girl Christine, wasn't it?" Monique accentuated each word with a bit of venom and question. "The girl who wrote on your arm, isn't it? I thought you didn't talk to her anymore."

Erik had a sip of his wine that had been set on their table not to long ago. It suddenly felt really hot in there, and almost like a replay of once before. He wasn't sure what the problem was this time, but he knew it had to do with Christine. Was it possible Monique actually was jealous? "Why does it matter if I talk to another woman?" Erik suddenly asked, feeling slightly irritated. "You talk to men all the time as friends."

Monique widened her eyes, knowing all along he was hanging about with this girl. "You are hanging with her? So you lied to me then."

He could see that she was now beginning to twist this to make him look like the bad guy. He'd been in business long enough to know when someone was trying to turn the tables. He could already feel the anger in him flaring. "Trying to put the blame on me now, are we?" he saw her pissed look and felt himself getting ready for the battle. "She's a friend who enjoys my company. Is someone a tad bit jealous?" now he'd done it.

She clenched her fist. "I AM NOT JEALOUS!" she practically yelled, feeling her face turn crimson as others turned in the restaurant and looked at her. She hurled a napkin down on the table. "I just don't think you should be lying about another girl, and spending so much time with her over your own girlfriend!"

Erik rolled his eyes. "Don't give me the self righteous act Monique; we all know how you cover up the things Adrian attempts with you, and how you seem to like the attention." she was going to interrupt, but Erik didn't give her the chance, like a true businessmen. "Christine is a friend, who seems to want to spend time with me, compared to you and your addiction to work. And Christine is in a relationship, so get off your high horse, and stop freaking."

Monique felt so angry, that tears were springing to her eyes. "Lilliana doesn't seem to like her." she pointed out.

Erik raised his eyebrow. "And you've been talking to my mother about this? Behind my back… very relationship and trustworthy, _dear_." he said sarcastically. "Don't worry, Lilliana likes Christine. If that's your alibi to like Christine or not, Lilliana actually finds herself to be rather fond of Christine since-" he stopped, not wanting to reveal she had stayed the night a week ago.

"Since when?" Monique glared, knowing he had almost revealed something. "Since you and her fucked each other?" now she knew she had pushed it.

Erik stood up angrily and pushed back from the table. "What the hell is your problem?" he felt outraged that Monique would suggest a thing… like defiling his perfect angel! He stopped, realizing what he had labelled her as in his mind. "She stayed the night because her boyfriend hurt her, and Lilliana and her hung out, it was completely chaste. As for you and your rendez-vous with Adrian… well that's another story, for another time and another bottle of wine, when I'm ever ready to deal with you again." and Erik left.

xoxo

_Raoul's Apartment._

_8:53 PM._

Christine stared at her watch for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night. "Is something wrong? Are you missing something? You keep staring at your watch." Raoul commented, looking at her.

There was an unusual air between the two. He figured it would have to do with previously… he still felt horrible about it. He hadn't seen her… he hadn't meant to hit her… there were so many things he wished he could take back, but they just wants. He kept apologizing…

"You know how sorry I am, right?" he said once again.

Christine nodded, knowing that he felt horrible for what happened. She forgave him, knowing that, and not wanting to hold a grudge like every other girl would drag out for two weeks, till their boyfriend bought them something pretty and expensive; she wasn't like that. But she knew it would take time for things to be completely normal between them again.

"Yeah, you've only said it a million times." she smiled faintly, causing Raoul to smile.

"I just love you so much." he hugged her body to his on his beaten up couch, flipping the channel on his TV. He didn't know what to put on, so he asked, "did you want to watch a movie?"

Christine nodded, not caring. She planned to go home soon, she wanted to get up early tomorrow to do some homework and other chores.

Besides, this was kind of awkward. Mostly because Raoul seemed to act like everything was his fault and wouldn't get past it already, like she was attempting to do. She hated what happened, but dwelling in the past, never fixed problems, and she hated this constant reminder.

And her mind… it just kept dragging her back to Erik. She knew she sounded like some broken record player, but she really could not stop thinking about him. He was on her mind all the time, and she was always wondering what he was doing.

They never really talked about anything he did outside of work. When he wasn't working -which he couldn't always be doing-, what did he do? Did he just hang with his girlfriend? Images of them having sex fluttered through her mind, and she shuttered.

"Which movie did you want to see?" Raoul asked, as he got up. He looked at Christine and could even see her dazed expression. "Christine?"

She looked up. She turned red for a second. "I don't know… you choose."

He frowned; she was acting so odd. He knew it had to do with before, so he was just going to keep trying till they were better again. "How about _Titanic_?" it was long and a romantic… and a good movie for them to get close once more.

"Can't." she replied blatantly. "I want to go home early tonight to rest… I have a lot to do tomorrow." she looked away from him.

He was about to ask what, but decided not to. She obviously wasn't willing to tell him. "Well you could leave now if that helps…?" he suggested, feeling defeated.

Christine saw this, and immediately felt horrible. They were supposed to be a couple. "How about just a short one?" she smiled softly.

In the end they decided on _Click_, with Adam Sandler.

Raoul didn't attempt to put his arm around her that night, she seemed completely distorted by him. They just sat watching the movie, eating the popcorn he had made.

By the end of the movie, both were relieved for it to be over and for Christine to leave.

They said their goodbyes, had an awkward hug and parted ways. Raoul watched her leave, and shut the door.

"What have I done?"


	21. Jingle Bell Rock

Chapter 21: Jingle Bell Rock.

_Friday December 21, 2007._

The sounds of jingle bell rock wafted around the office. Monique moved to the punch bowl and grabbed a cup of punch for her and for Erik. It was cherry punch, and she handed it to him.

"Thanks." he replied, taking the paper cup from her.

It had been a week, and Erik was trying desperately to make things better between them. A week ago they had gotten into a fight, and Erik felt terrible a couple days later. The things he had said were inexcusable. He still didn't feel they were past it, but at least he was trying, right? That must count for something… .

It was Monique's, work's annual Christmas party. Her work held one at the office every year. This was actually the second or so time Erik had gone. He went once years ago, and hated it; feeling on the spot in front of everyone. He went with her this year to make up for dinner.

So far it had sort of been working; well at least he thought so. She talked to him, but only sort of. She still gave him the cold shoulder, but he could see it in her eyes, she was genuinely happy he was there. A person had once said that eyes were the looking glass into a person's soul, and Erik knew that to be true.

"Erik look," Monique started. She was about to apologize for everything as well. She felt bad about what had happened as well. Erik was trying, and if they ever wanted to make it, they both had to try. It seemed that whenever one of them was trying, the other wasn't. Almost like a twisted game of fate.

She sighed; she was going to have a new outlook on this. When he tried, she would try harder. Maybe they could still work this out and have the marriage she knew that she was now ready for. She knew Erik was ready too, he just needed convincing, and that was her job.

"Hello Monique." Adrian's familiar husky voice filled her ear as he came up behind her and squeezed her shoulders.

Monique shut her eyes. _Please, not now. _Her thoughts begged. She knew Erik and Adrian did not care for each other. The way Adrian blatantly hit on her, did not help. Erik was a very jealous man too.

Erik stared at Adrian, as he quite obviously ignored him and paid attention to Monique. He clenched his fist, knowing this would happen. _I'm such an idiot, coming here, thinking anything would be different._

It seemed right when Erik was about to take the man's face out, he acknowledged his existence. "Ah, Erik right?" Like he didn't know who he was. "I see you finally came to the Christmas party for the staff… ." he trailed off and then looked at Monique and smiled brightly. "Come, I want to show you something."

Erik didn't budge, just watching as Adrian put his nasty hand on the small of Monique's back and escorted her away, despite her protests.

The next few hours Erik stood by the door of the office, watching as Adrian held to Monique's arm, taking her from group of colleagues to another. He made sure she chatted with everyone, including himself.

He went to the banquet table, and poured himself a cup of punch with the ladle spoon, and then placed it back in. He looked up, only seeing a couple of strange expressions on people's faces.

He felt like such a loner and loser, having no date accompanying him. Fucking bullshit, my date is just draped over another man.

Looking around, he saw Monique standing with Adrian in a corner, talking to an older couple. They managed to meet eyes, and she gave him a helpless look, and mouthed the words 'I'm sorry'.

Erik looked away irritable. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was only 8:09 pm. He'd be stuck here for another three hours… watching as Adrian practically showed off Monique like some sort of trophy he had won. Monique didn't even try not to enjoy it. He saw the smile on her face; like a billboard plastered all over town.

Heading towards the balcony of the office this was held in, he pulled out the cell phone in his pocket and hit the speed dial one button, and hit send. It rung for a few seconds, till their finally was a reply.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's uh, Erik."

"Oh hey, how are you?" Christine asked, sounding drowsy.

"Alright I suppose. I didn't wake you up, did I?" Erik suddenly felt bad. They hadn't spoken since that night she decided she'd decided to go and talk to Raoul again. He hadn't planned to call her at Monique's work Christmas party, but that was before she had ditched him for prince charming in there.

"Ah, just a cat nap. Thanks though, I wanted to get some papers done for class this winter break. So why are you calling? Not that I don't enjoy it." she giggled.

Erik smiled, he loved her giggles. "I'm actually at a Christmas party."

"Seriously?" Christine couldn't believe he was at a party. "Then why are you talking to me?" she laughed. "Go join the crowd you hermit." she meant it with affection.

Erik smiled. "I prefer talking to you though." honestly he did, too.

"Ah, alright. What would you like to talk about?"

"How are you and your boyfriend?" he said directly. It had been killing him, he wanted to know what had happened since he heard what last happened. He had wanted to beat the man up so much after he saw Christine's perfect face so bruised and distorted.

"I knew you wanted the gossip." Christine smiled. Before Erik could deny that though, Christine said, "we're not bad actually. We met up and had a movie night… it was kind of awkward I guess, but I'll try and make things better."

Erik wanted to tell her she shouldn't have to be the one to make things better, but he stopped himself. He wasn't going to get into a fight with her. "I'm really happy for you Christine." he said really softly.

Christine could hear a certain tone in his voice. "I'm happy for you too Erik." she said equally as softly.

There was a silence on both ends, where Erik didn't know what to say. He had both his hands on the cold banister, his eyes down cast as he looked at the city from his high perch. As he raised his eyes though, he saw a snowflake fall.

"It's snowing." he whispered.

Though quiet as he was, Christine heard him. "Really?" she sounded like a little five year old excited for Christmastime. He heard the phone drop and the Christine pick it up and squeal, "oh my God, it is!"

Erik chuckled. "First snowfall of the year."

"We're totally building snowmen and making snow angels Erik!" Christine exclaimed happily into the phone. So happy, that even Erik couldn't resist a smile.

"We'll have to buy coffee or hot chocolate too then." he suggested, actually feeling excited by the prospect of doing all this with her.

"Oh totally!" she was so joyful. "I love the snow so much!" she giggled. She calmed down quickly though. "I needed that."

"Erik?"

Erik turned around, to see Monique coming out in her fancy dress, on the cold breeze stricken balcony and he immediately shut the phone on Christine. She gave him a tiny smile, that silently told him she was apologizing about before. "Who were you talking to?" she asked, trying to change the subject that they hadn't really approached… .

Erik opened his mouth, about to say Christine, but stopped himself. It was kind of a sore topic between them… he knew how much Monique didn't like Christine.

Instead he brushed past her, heading towards the door; he needed somewhere to think. He felt like he couldn't take this anymore. First she spent most of the party with Adrian, now all of a sudden, she was asking him questions… he just wanted to leave by this point.

He kind of felt like Christine had felt when Raoul had hit her. Subconsciously he ground his teeth at that thought. But she had needed time to just get away, to just think about it and decide. Yes, maybe he didn't agree with her end results, but she had made her choice.

Monique stepped forward and clutched is arm. "Please don't go Erik."

She didn't know what was happening to them anymore. At one point it seemed they were really happy, and then the proposal happened… and after that, it seemed like he was distancing himself more and more, and they were really falling apart by this point now. She didn't want to give up on them though, she could really see a future with Erik.

Ruining the mood, Erik's phone went off.

Monique gave him a look, hoping he wouldn't open his phone, and just come to her. What happened to the good days when everything he did was centered around her? Why did she suddenly feel like a forgotten book he hadn't finished, in his life?

He pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and checked it. She noticed how his face began turning into a smile. Why wasn't she causing him to smile like that anymore? Had she been so wrong to focus so much on her career, and expect Erik to always be the one to come to her?

She began to feel really guilty at the mere thought she was even beginning to have. She wouldn't deny it, but because he wore a mask, she knew something was wrong with him… and well, she had always expected him to come to her because she knew that many men vied for her attention. She didn't think she would have to try… that he would always be there waiting… .

"Please Erik." she whispered. _I'm sorry._ She thought. _I didn't mean to make you feel so worthless… I'm such a bitch. _

He looked at her and replied softly, "I think it's better if I just go… I really need some time to think." he nodded at her and pulled his arm from her clutches, moving towards the door of the balcony.

"Please Erik!" she suddenly felt desperate. "I didn't mean for this… ."

Adrian suddenly appeared on the balcony, all smiles.

Erik clenched his fists and felt anger run through him. He was tired of playing second fiddle to Christine and Monique. He was about to give up on love altogether.

"Monique," Adrian pronounced her name slowly, glancing a bit at Erik, and giving him a smug smile. "A few of the head management are finally here, and we'd like to have some photos taken all together. "

Erik couldn't stand this anymore, if Monique wasn't going to try, neither would he.

He moved out of there, ignoring all the people throwing confetti and the loud music going on, all the stares that passed his way as he left… he didn't even look back at her.

As he left the front doors of the tall skyscraper, he looked up at the pitch black sky, seeing the snow flakes falling gently from the nighttimes skies.

He didn't bother to close his expensive _Armani_ over coat, he let his body shiver with the cold breeze, deciding there and then, his life would run on a new philosophy; he would never look back on life again.


	22. The Christmas Party to Remember

A/N: Ok, this is kind of the wrong time of the year... :P but Christmas in June!

I'm happy to say I passed both Chem 11 and Math 11! :D I had my English final today, and my last exam is my social's provincial next Friday (19th) So no classes, and Grade 11 is almost over! :) I might be taking Summer school though to do a course I never took previously, so not as much writing... :( but we'll see.

Anyways, please enjoy, I'll be updating LYTD very soon. Read and review, that's all I ask of you :)

-EFH

xoxo

Chapter 22: The Christmas Party to Remember.

_Monday, December 24, 2007_

"Can you stir this?" Lilliana passed Erik the wooden spoon, wiping her hands on her apron, removing any food that managed to get on her hands. "And just put the pie in the oven, the turkey is done and ready for tonight, I just quickly need to clean up." She smiled at her son, as she pulled her apron off, and hung it on a hook.

"When is… everyone arriving?" Erik didn't want to say _family_; especially since that's the last thing he thought of them. He couldn't believe they still had to have them over at his home.

Lilliana looked at him and down at the watch on her wrist. "Four-ish I'd say; probably another half an hour. Monique will be here any minute now." She gave him a reassuring smile; encouraging him that everything would be alright now that Monique would be here.

Erik looked down at the contents in the pan he was stirring, just lost in his thoughts. Monique and he hadn't been getting along recently, and he wasn't sure she'd even show after the stunt he pulled at her work party. She had called a couple days ago and mentioned coming, but the tone she delivered that in… he wasn't quite so sure anymore.

Lilliana changed into her Christmas attire, when she heard the phone ring. Down the hall, she heard the muffled voice of Erik answering the phone.

She glanced out the window of her bedroom, and saw the snow coming down, covering the grounds immensely. _Probably someone is going to be late._ She smiled, till she heard the slam of the phone in its cradle.

"Erik?" Lilliana called down the hall, "Who was that?" she waited, hoping to hear someone would be late. Somehow though, she was not holding her breath on that one… .

No reply.

Already she had a bad feeling on this one. Hurrying to put on a pair of nice earrings, she hurried down the hall, and into the kitchen. "Erik," she repeated, "who called?" she saw his anger stricken face.

"Monique; she isn't coming." He spoke in a crispy voice. He turned to the food, turning the oven off, and pulling the contents out of the pan and into a gravy bowl.

Right now he actually was trying hard to stifle the few tears collecting in his eyes. He wasn't some sixteen year old, pimple faced teen, which got stood up by his first girlfriend. He was an adult now, who could handle himself and adult relations.

Lilliana saw them though, but she turned and left the kitchen, not saying a word. She knew he didn't want to hear it.

Erik watched her leave, knowing she felt pity for him. He was tired of pity, he was tired of his family, he was tired of Monique and he was tired of his life. He didn't want to go through tonight, he didn't want his family to be here… to mock him as he knew they will.

Lilliana sat in her bedroom and she picked up the phone.

xoxo

The doorbell rang, and Erik's attention was drawn towards the door. He felt his insides become hollow at the prospect of his family.

"Erik, could you greet out _guest_?" she called down the hall.

Erik moved towards the doorway, feeling his hands clench at his sides, and his mouth turn dry. _I'd rather be anywhere but here. _His thoughts screamed.

When he opened the door though, he never felt such a wave of happiness and shock though, when he saw _her_ standing there. "Christine?" he gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Christine's face beamed as it turned into a big smile. "What a nice greeting Erik. I'm so glad to be here too!" she laughed as she passed him, into the house. She saw his dumbstruck face though. "I thought I'd drop by." She winked at him.

He looked her over as she took her coat off, and she was dressed like she going somewhere special. She wore a navy blue dress that dropped just a bit above her knees with a flare. It was made of velvet with lace over top of the bottom. The bodice was tight and only velvet, and tied up behind her neck with velvet strands. She looked stunning with her wild curls falling down her back and shoulder, only a few clips placed in her hair to hold some of it back. She wore black stockings and strappy silver heels; she was absolutely gorgeous, especially with the way her make up was done.

Lilliana came out right at that moment, and smiled when she saw Christine. Christine immediately winked at Lilliana. "It's so wonderful to see you Christine!"

Erik looked between his mother and Christine, trying to figure it out. He caught Christine's look though, and quickly put two and two together; Lilliana must have invited Christine. He wasn't sure whether to be horrified or relieved and overjoyed.

"I thought you were spending Christmas Eve with your Aunt Grace?" he was proud of himself just for remembering the name of her Aunt; _brownie Points. _

Christine looked at Lilliana, and saw her expression. "Well she wasn't feeling quite as well, and we decided we would do the whole Christmas thing another day this week… and I happened to know about your family dinner, and figured I would come and crash it." She laughed. She knew he probably didn't buy it; even she wouldn't buy it… .

Erik smiled, feeling like picking her up and just kissing her as hard as he could. Now his family could burn with the knowledge that he wasn't a complete failure. "I'm really glad you came Christine." He spoke sincerely, deciding not to dwell on the fact that she was bailing him out… just overjoyed she was here.

"Oh no, it's no problem, really Erik… I should be thanking you." she smiled. "So would you like me to help with anything?"

Erik could name a couple things that would make him happier… but he was so overjoyed she was here.

"Just sit down Hun." Lilliana spoke, going to deal with the dinner, "they'll be here soon, I'm just finishing up with dinner."

Erik moved over to the sound system in the den and put on a holiday CD, adding to the festivity. A part of him looked forward to his family coming now.

The doorbell rang shortly after and Lilliana called from the kitchen, "I just have to add the finishing touches to the dessert, can you get that Erik?"

Naturally Erik would object, but Christine had already stood up and was already heading towards the front door. Erik followed after her, not even bothering to argue.

She opened the doorway and Erik could see all of Lilliana's relatives outside, except maybe one or two aunts and uncles that would arrive later. They looked at her kind of shocked, but nodded when Erik's maked face showed up. One or two of them smiled at him, the others just kind of looked onwards.

"Merry Christmas." Christine smiled. "Come in." she moved out of the doorway, letting them in.

Erik coughed, but smiled, especially at the few he couldn't stand. "This is Christine Devenpeck, my… . " he wanted to say girlfriend, but he knew it wasn't true. He didn't want to put Christine in an awkward position.

"Girlfriend," she piped in, looping her arm and lacing her fingers with his, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm his girlfriend of… how long have we been going out for honey?" she asked sweetly, looking up at him with her doe like eyes.

Erik paused, feeling so lost for words. "Six-."

"Six months." Christine finished for him, smiling at his family. "Tonight I can finally meet your family Erik. I've heard so much about you all." she giggled.

Lilliana finally came into the entrance hall, still wearing her apron over her dress. "Why is everyone still standing here? Let's all go in the den." she spoke, going over and hugging one of her children, kissing them on the cheek. "I see you've all met Christine."

"Erik's girlfriend, yes." Sherry, one of the daughter's spoke, with an astonished voice.

They all moved into the den, and for the whole night, Christine held onto Erik, sitting with him, hugging him, doing whatever it took to prove she was Erik's girlfriend. Christine somehow knew Erik needed this; she knew he had problems with his family, because of his mask… .

Erik let himself really fall into the false world Christine was creating that night. He loved the feel of her soft hand constantly in his. He loved her kisses she seemed to keep placing on him, and the feel of her head on his shoulder. At one point, he even let his free hand travel, and run through her curls.

The rest of his family showed up, and they all had the same expression when they saw Christine.

"When did you meet Erik, Christine?" Danielle, one of the sisters, asked Christine.

One of the guys sitting down coughed, and said something disdainfully, that Erik did not miss.

Christine smiled her bright smile. "Seven months ago, at a beach." She realized it was only two months, but tonight she would go all out on her story. "He helped me get through a tough time with family problems."

"Oh, what kind of problems?" Another sister -Emily- asked. Erik knew that some of his family were a bit more rude.

"Christine you don't have to talk about it -" Erik tried to interject.

Christine squeezed his hand. "I don't mind Erik." she kissed his bare cheek. "My father passed away when I was young and I had no mother. "

"So an orphan then." John interjected.

"Well yeah," she paused, "but I grew up with my Aunt. I had a bit of difficulties with school and all and I battled a lot of depression, and when I met Erik, he helped me through the hard times."

"Lilliana mentioned you're in university. I take it Erik's paying for it?" Daniel, one of the brothers asked. "I mean that's why you feel obligated to be here tonight, isn't it? And to be his girlfriend."

"Daniel!" Lilliana spoke, appalled.

Erik felt his blood race. _Great, all the comments are starting_.

"Come on mother, let's get the truth out there. How much did Erik pay this woman to act the role tonight?" He looked around the room, and a couple of brothers and sisters nodded.

Erik wanted to yell, but Christine started talking before he could. "I'm not being paid to be here. I care about Erik a lot, and I resent that question a lot. Maybe to you he's a man with a mask obscuring half his face, but to me, he's my closest friend and the most sincere person I've ever met." she paused. "You all judge him, but you don't even know him." she felt angry. Seeing their blank uncaring faces, she turned around and planted a huge kiss on Erik's mouth.

Lilliana smiled at Christine, seeing how angry she got, loving how she defended Erik.

Everyone in the room was completely dead silent when Christine sat down and piped in. "So when's dinner?"

- - -

Conversation picked up again once everyone sat down for Christmas dinner. Christine spoke about what she was majoring in, in university and talked about interests and hobbies. Erik was relieved that she had smoothed everything over.

"What ever happened to that woman, Monique, we heard about?" Danielle asked Erik off to the side of all the conversations going on with Christine.

Danielle was more of a neutral friend to Erik. In the family, she never minded him, and always got along to an extent with him. She rarely saw him, but she was glad to say the least, that he had somebody, besides Lilliana.

"Just didn't work out… we had poor timing." Erik said quietly. "Whenever I was ready she wasn't, then when I was, she wasn't." he explained, feeling ok around her.

"I like Christine, she seems genuine." Danielle smiled at Erik. "Quirky and I can tell she really _cares_ about you Erik." she spoke sincerely.

Erik glanced over at Christine, who was laughing with a couple of his siblings. She seemed to be getting on really well with them. Ever since the blow up earlier, everyone took to her pretty well.

Dinner time ended and soon Lilliana served dessert; a cherry pie.

Erik excused himself to go change the music, when the earlier Christmas CD came to a finish. He went into the den and searched his collection for another festive CD. Randomly, he picked up a gingerbread man from a platter of cookies on the coffee table, holding onto it with his teeth, as he looked through the CD's.

"Whatcha doing Erik?" Christine asked, coming up behind him. "You just kind of snuck away from the table." she laughed. She crouched down besides him, looking at the CD's he was holding in his hands.

"Just picking a CD. What would you recommend?"

She pointed to one and smiled. "That's a good one." She stood up and walked over to the window in the den, glancing out.

He stood up as well and swapped the CD's. "What are you looking at?"

"The snow." she smiled. "Have you ever noticed how it makes everything look the same?" Erik joined her by the window and she smiled at him.

He waited a moment, before speaking. "I just want to thank you Christine - for everything you did tonight… it means a lot to me." he leaned towards her.

She smiled up at him. "Hey, no worries Erik, what are friends for?"

He pulled back a little. "Yeah, what are friends for… ."

He was starting to get the point. This was never going to be a relationship, only ever a friendship. Christine would do anything for him, but she would only ever be a friend to him. It felt like his heart was made of glass and it was falling on the floor and shattering.

Lilliana peered around the corner of the hall at the two, wondering where they had disappeared to during dinner time, finding them to be quite intimately close standing by the window. She wished that the two would finally be together. She was ready to forget Monique, Christine was perfect for him.

Christine smiled at Erik once more. "I've never met someone quite like you Erik." she spoke sincerely.

"Hideous?"

She swatted him. "No! You are far from hideous Erik."

_If only you knew Christine. _He thought.

"I meant, you're special… you're unique and not like anyone else. You're personality is something special, and I'll always care about you Erik." she embraced him. "You can always count on me to be here."

_Yeah, but as nothing more. _

- - -

"Have a goodnight and a safe drive home." Lilliana kissed each of her kid's cheeks, and her grandchildren. "I know the snow is a littler more deeper. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year though!" she sighed, knowing it wouldn't be till Easter that she'd see any of them again.

"Hey, Erik, nothing personal about earlier?" Daniel came up to him, holding out his hand. "That girl Christine seems to be a real keeper, and a major babe, if you know what I mean." he winked at Erik.

Erik smiled hesitantly, not liking the innuendo he was trying to imply, but glad that he wasn't being the ass he usually was. Erik looked over at Christine, and saw her smiling and waving at his family. They all seemed to like her, and the men who shouldn't, were all checking her out, much to Erik's disdain.

"Have a Merry Christmas!" Christine smiled, shutting the door behind them.

"In exactly forty- four minutes, it'll be Christmas." Lilliana smiled. "Are you staying the night Christine?" she knew Christine didn't really have family, so it would be nice to spend Christmas with her.

Christine looked at Erik, who smiled a little. "If Erik doesn't mind."

Erik nodded, but not too eagerly.

Lilliana smiled at the two, knowing their future together was looking brighter. "I'll be right back. You two go settle on the couch, I'll make a pot of tea and we can enjoy some more cookies." she left the awkward two, relieved that Erik wouldn't be alone anymore. Their path was set, it was just up to them to put the bricks in.

When she returned with the cups of tea, the two were settled on the couch, Christine cocooned in a blanket. They were talking mostly.

"You know what, I'm feeling really tired, I think I'll retire for the night." she set the cups of tea down. "Have a goodnight you two." she spoke quickly, not wanting them to object.

Erik realized of course, what she was doing yet again, but said nothing.

Christine took one of the gingerbread man and took a bite out of him. "You're mom is such a good cook. I wish I were that good." she laughed. "Most of my food goes black."

He laughed with her, enjoying this moment with her.

"This Christmas I just want to spend it with someone I care about." she smiled. "All my Christmas's always felt so fake."

Erik looked her in the eyes. "I don't think this one will feel that way Christine." He glanced at the clock and already it was a minute till midnight.

She smiled. "I agree Erik, this year will be different. I think that New Year will be very different."

"This year I hope to finally meet the one." he said, trying to decipher her reaction.

Christine sipped her tea and said honestly, "you will Erik." she looked deeply into his eyes, her lips curving into a smile. She felt like kissing him, the way his green eyes searched hers, luring her in.

The grandfather clock began to sound in the hall, showing that it was midnight.

"Merry Christmas Christine." Erik said softly.

"Merry Christmas Erik." Christine whispered back**.**


End file.
